Paint By Numbers
by Lia Fail
Summary: Last chapter up! Kiotr and Romy storylines come to an end
1. Default Chapter

Paint By Numbers

Chapter 1

*Author's note: This fic takes place a few months after Ascension . Colossus and Gambit joined the X-Men, Pyro joined the Brotherhood. Kitty and Lance are together, but fighting a lot, and she seems to be taking a special interest in Piotr. I have nothing against Lance, I just like Piotr better, and I can't see him and Kitty together in the comics because he's dead (sniff). Anyway, please r/r! If you guys like it, I'll continue. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Marvel owns everything, I own nothing.

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"Well, like, bye to you to!" Kitty yelled indignantly as Lance drove away in his brown jeep. _He didn't even say goodbye,_ she fumed. _I'm surprised he even dropped me off, I half expected him to tell me to walk home, even though he's the reason we got into another fight. If he would just, like, stand up for me in front of his friends every once in awhile. It's not my fault I don't like them. I mean, Wanda's ok, she's actually showing signs of a conscience. But Toad is like, soooo gross, and Blob's table manners could, like, definitely use some major work. Pietro's such a smug jerk, and Pyro, well, he like totally crossed the line to crazy a long time ago. I mean, him joking about setting my hair on fire, I can handle. But then he just kept looking at me....and laughing. It just, like, didn't make me feel very safe. And when I told that to Lance, expecting my stupid boyfriend to protect me, he just laughed right along with the rest of them. "Kitty, you're overreacting again" he says. "Kitty, why do you always have to cause problems with my friends?" he says. Yeah, like he's always so nice to my friends. _

Speaking of my friends, like, where is everyone? I really would like to talk to a friendly face. Or Rogue. But she's probably off with Gambit. For someone who claims to hate him, she sure spends a lot of time with him. Maybe Kurt's here, she thought, heading toward the room her fuzzy blue friend shared with Colossus.

"Kurt?" she asked, phasing her head through the door. "Oh, hi Peter!" she said, as she used her powers to phase her whole body into the room. He was sitting near the window, facing her, working on a painting in front of him that she couldn't see.

"Kitty!" He said, startled. "I...I locked the door!"

Kitty glanced at the unopened door behind her. "Yeah, uh, I didn't use the door. Like, sorry!"

"Kurt's not here." Piotr replied, hoping that information would convince her to turn around and leave. She didn't.

"That's ok. I'll just talk to you instead. So...whatcha doin'?

"Painting," he said shortly, as she moved closer to his side of the painting.

"Well I know that, but what are you painting?" she asked innocently, wondering why he seemed so grumpy.

"A picture," he responded , struggling to shield the canvas from her as she kept trying to get a good look at what he was drawing.

"You know, you keep blocking it with your body and I can't see what it looks like."

"I know. That's why I keep blocking it with my body," he stated flatly. 

"_Uh-oh," _Kitty thought._ "The tin can man sounds annoyed. Or angry. Like, this is so not good. I better move away to the back of the painting so I don't upset him anymore. _"You know," she said, trying to be cute, "I could, like, just phase through you and I'd be able to see it."

"No!" Peter yelled nervously. "I'm sorry, Katya. I...I do not wish for anyone to see my painting until it is completed. The subject matter is very special to me. It deserves to be perfect." 

__

"Good, he's not mad," she thought. "What's the subject? Is it a girl? Is it someone you love?" _Does he have a girlfriend? How come I never asked him that? Why do I care? It, like, shouldn't make any difference to me._

"Well, there's a girl in the painting," 

"Oh," she said flatly, her heart sinking. "Is it your girlfriend?" _Please don't let it be his girlfriend, please don't let it be his girlfriend, please don't let it be his-_

"No, it's.....it's my little snowflake."

__

Yes! He doesn't have a girlfriend! Not that I care. But it's not his girlfriend! It's his little snowflake. Wait, what's a little snowflake? "What's a little snowflake?_"_

"Oh, that is my nickname for my little sister, Illyana. She's only seven." 

__

It's his sister, definitely not his girlfriend. The world is good. "You give a lot of people nicknames, don't you Peter?"

"No, Katya, only the ones who are special to me."

"So what else is in the picture?"

"What?"

"You said there was a girl in the picture. So, like, doesn't that mean she's only part of it?"

"Da, of course. I am drawing my...my home in Siberia."

"Do you miss Russia?" she asked, suddenly realizing she knew so little about where he came from.

"I miss the land, and the satisfaction of completing a hard day's work, but, mostly, I miss my family" he said wistfully. "But there is important work to be done here as well, and my conscience tells me that here, with the X-men, is where I am needed." 

"Peter, would you tell me about your home?"

His face lit up at her request. "It is beautiful, Katya. Our farm is in a valley, and in the summer it is surrounded by row after row of golden crops. And all around it are huge, majestic mountains with peaks that are covered with snow all year. The sky is so clean and pure that when the sun sets, the sky is filled with such vibrant colors that not even great artists like Monet or Whistler could hope to imitate it. And down from our little house is a lake where Mikhail- that's my brother, he died years ago- used to teach me to swim, and where I took Illyana to teach her the same." He laughs at the memory. "At first my snowflake was scared of the lake, she thought a demon would come and get her. I had to turn into my steel form to make her feel safe. I told her I would never let any monster take my sister away from me. The last letter I got from Mama said that now my sister is like a little fish. Mama and Papa have to practically drag her back home from the lake." He looked at Kitty and smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid none of this may seem very exciting to a city girl like you, but to me, it will always be home."

Kitty wasn't sure of what to say. She had never known how homesick he was, and her heart broke for him. Finally, she managed to choke out a few words.

"Your painting is wonderful, Peter," she said sincerely. 

"You haven't even seen it!" he replied, laughing.

"No, but with all the feelings and the love you put into it, it will be beautiful no matter what it looks like."

"Well, it helps that the subject is so beautiful. I was not lying about that," he told her softly.

"Was not lying about that? So what, were you like, lying about everything else?" she teased.

Peter just looked at her for a moment and smiled secretively, then silently continued to paint. 

"Hey Peter? I know it's not done or anything, but do you think like in time you could show me your painting?" she asked hopefully.

"Perhaps, Katya. In time," he said, almost pensively. He looked up at her, and for the briefest moment, their eyes locked. Looking into them, Kitty noticed how gorgeous they really were, bright and blue and full of an emotion that she couldn't quite place; longing maybe? He looked back down at his painting, and Kitty took that as her cue to leave. She wandered back to her room, the argument with Lance forgotten , and all she could think about was Peter, and how handsome he was when he smiled.

Meanwhile, back in Peter's room, the Russian carefully continued working on his special painting, mixing a small amount of yellow paint in with the brown so he could match the exact shade of Kitty's light brown hair, then continued to lovingly paint her portrait. 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hi! Thanks for all the reviews! I wasn't planning on having Lance and Peter get into a fight, but after reading the reviews I'm thinking about it, since I think he got taken down way too easily by Wisdom in Excalibur 92 (although, in his defense, he was in the middle of a nervous breakdown). Anyway, if you have an opinion on a Peter/Lance fight, speak up (although it probably won't get written until chapter 4 or 5). Thanks! Hope you like the story. 

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Paint by Number

Chapter 2

"Rogue and Remy sittin' in a tree,

K-I-S-S-I-N-G,

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Rogue with the baby carriage!"

Kitty and Kurt laughed as they teased Rogue with their song.

"Ah swear, the two of you combined have tha maturity of a five year old!" Rogue fumed. "The only reason Ah came outside was to get away from the two of ya!"

"Really?" Nightcrawler asked in a shocked tone. "I thought it vas so you could sit in the sun and keep up your tan."

Rogue, not amused by her "brother's" sarcasm, rewarded him with a slap on the head. "Keep it up, and next time Ah hit ya, Ah won't be wearin' mah glove," the southerner warned menacingly before storming off towards the mansion, muttering about "pain in the ass friends" and "damn swamp rats." 

Kitty sighed as she watched Rogue walk away. "It's, like, so sad when people ignore their feelings. Especially when following your heart can bring you so much happiness."

"Some people would rather be safe and settle for a satisfactory relationship then take a chance and be in a truly happy one. Sometimes they are too worried risking what they have for what they really want," Kurt told her in a serious tone.

Kitty frowned. Lately, her fuzzy friend seemed to be a lot more solemn and withdrawn, and she wondered if it had something to do with his strained relationship with his mother. "You sound like you're speaking from experience," she said gently.

"Ja," he muttered, looking away. "So do you."

She followed his gaze towards the lake, where he was looking at a lonely figure sitting alone by the water. From a distance, it was obvious it was Peter. Even without his steel form, he was still hard to miss. 

"Your boyfriend looks sad. He must be missing you" Kurt joked, an amused smile coming back to his face.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Kitty exclaimed indignantly.

"Now you sound like Rogue."

"Except making fun of Rogue is like, funny."

"Eloquently put, Katzchen."

Kitty stuck her tongue at him. "Wow," she said. "Never thought I'd say this, but Rogue's right. We are, like, so immature."

"Ja," Nightcrawler agreed. But you're changing the subject. You got pretty defensive when I mentioned you and Peter."

"That's because there is no me and Peter. But there is a me and Lance, remember ?"

"I think Steel Face is a lot better for you than Seismic Activity Boy." Kurt said firmly. "Although I don't think either of them is the right guy for you," he added, so quietly that she didn't even heard him.

"What you say?" she asked her friend.

"I said, just go talk to him. Take a risk before it's too late. I wish I had." Before she could ask him to explain, he *bamfed* away.

Kitty shrugged. Peter did look like he needed a friend. _And at least I'll be able to get away from the fire and brimstone stench of Kurt's porting,_ she thought to herself as she headed toward her Russian teammate. 

"Hi Petey. Like, what are you up to?"

"Katya, hello," he said, a little startled by her interruption as he put down his sketchbook. "I did not even here you walk up. The mansion was so loud and crowded that I came out here to be alone."

"Oh." She figured she should leave and give him some privacy, but somehow she knew he needed someone right now. "Do you, like, mind if we be alone together?" 

"Da. That would be pleasant."

Kitty sat down on the grassy bank a few feet from him. He returned to his drawing and, for once in her life, she stayed quiet. She was suprised to find herself enjoying the comfort of the silence. 

He continued to sketch. She leaned back and stared up at the clouds, trying to figure out what they looked like. She found one that was shaped like a sword, one that seemed like a ninja, or maybe a dancer, she couldn't decide, and one that made her think of a pirate. Her favorite was a cloud that looked like a chubby dragon. The way the light hit it, it looked almost purple. She peacefully watched the cloud for as long as she could before the wind gently rearranged it into a new form and her little dragon friend disappeared. After her cloud had floated from view, she turned back to reality and realized that the absence of the sound of charcoal on paper meant that Peter had stopped sketching. She turned to look at him and found the Russian starring at her with a bemused smile on his face. 

"What?" she asked, embarrassed.

"Did you know you suck your bottom lip when you're thinking?"

No I don't" she said assertively, knowing full well that she did, but mortified that he had noticed.

"It's not a bad habit. It's..." he searched for the right word. "It's endearing."

"Oh. Well, in that case, Tic Tac?"

"What?" He stared at her blankly.

"Tic Tac," she repeated, pulling a tiny plastic container from her pocket. "It's Wint-o-green fresh!" she added brightly. 

He continued to stare at her. Then he stared at the box in her hand. Then back to her face. Then he burst out laughing. Not scary maniacal "I'm a little psycho" Pyro laughter, as one might expect from a former Acolyte, but deep, hearty good-natured Colossus laughter, which Kitty understandably preferred, and would have enjoyed., had he not been laughing at her.

"I apologize," he gasped, trying to catch his breath. "But I have never met anyone quite like you. You are so wonderfully odd. Odd in a good way. Special. But I should not have laughed. Particularly on today."

"What's so special about today?" she asked, torn between feeling grumpy that he called her "odd," and elated that he thought of her as "special."

"My brother died five years ago today," he said quietly, turning away from her to stare at the water, all traces of a smile disappearing from his face.

"Is that why you came out to the lake?" she asked gently. "Because it reminds you of the one he taught you to swim in back home?"

"You remember," he exclaimed, touched that she hadn't forgotten a story that meant so much to him. "Yes, that's why I chose the lake." They sat quietly for a few moments, before Peter spoke again. "I drew a picture of him" he told her, handing the brown hair girl his sketch book. He stared at Kitty as she looked at his art, waiting for hear her opinion of his work. 

"He looks a little like you. Except your more handsome." Piotr smiled. "How'd he die?"

"He was a cosmonaut in our country's space program. On his first real mission the shuttle exploded during the launch. Everyone aboard was killed." 

Kitty moved closer to him and put a comforting hand on his knee, and waited for him to continue.

"I think being here is a good way to honor his memory," he said finally.

"You mean the lake-"

"No, I mean being with the X-Men. My brother was a hero. It would make him proud to know I was trying to be one too, I think."

"You don't have to try to be a hero, Peter. You already are one," she said sincerely.

He looked down at his sketch. "Mikhail would be honored to hear you say that. I know that I am."

Hesitantly, he placed his massive hand on top of her petit one, which was still resting on his knee. Unconsciously, their fingers entwined, and she tenderly caressed his pinky with her thumb. Slowly, he turned his head toward hers, and their eyes locked. For a moment, Kitty was sure he was going to kiss her, and her heart fluttered with anticipation. But they both knew that this was not the right time, nor the right situation. Peter broke their gaze first, desperately searching for something, anything, he could say to change the subject. Finally, it hit him.

"What were you staring at in the sky for so long?"

"Oh that. I was playing a game. My mom used to call it "Spilt Milk," like the book. You just look at the clouds and imagine what shape it looks like. I saw one earlier that looked like a dragon. And see that one? It looks like a ballet slipper."

"That one?"

"No, a little left."

"Oh, I see it. But it looks more like a paintbrush to me."

"That's cause you always have painting on the brain. Hey, what does that one look like to you?"

"A six armed woman with a sword. You?"

"I was going to go with "tree," but yours works too. That one looks like robot."

"The edges are too round for a robot. It's looks more like a boy."

"Compromise. It's a Roboboy. Or, better yet, a Roboy."

"Roboy it is."

And they spent the rest of the day like this, with their backs lying on the grass and their heads in the clouds, until the sun set and replaced their canvas with the darkness of night.

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	3. Chapter 3

Paint by Numbers

Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed! I really had a hard time with this chapter, so the reviews were pretty much the only thing that made me stick with it. And thanks to Dark Bat for putting this on your favorite stories list!

Disclaimer: Marvel owns all of this yadda, yadda, yadda

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"Is it a squirrel?" Peter asked, trying to make some sense of the scribbles in front of him.

"No." Kitty giggled, thinking he was teasing her.

"Is it a ....hat?" he guessed randomly.

"What?" she said, scrunching up her face at him.

"Ok, not a hat. Then it must be a... a snake eating an elephant."

"Ha ha, very funny. Come on, you know what this is."

"I'm sorry Katya, but, in all honesty, I have absolutely no idea what you drew." he told her as he handed her back her drawing.

"Duh, Peter. Isn't it obvious? It's a picture of you!" she told him, a little hurt that he didn't like the sketch she had hoped would impress him.

"Oh, now I see it," he lied, turning it upside down. "I simply had it the wrong way."

Kitty frowned. "No, you had it the right way. Now you have it the wrong way. But before, when you were trying to figure out what it was? Yeah, like that was the right way." She took the picture from him and examined it critically. "You know, your right" she sighed. "It does look like a squirrel. Huh. Like, how'd that happen?"

"It's a very good squirrel," he told her, hoping to cheer her up.

Kitty smiled contemplatively. "It is, isn't it?"

"Da, very impressive."

Her smile widened. "I'm a pretty impressive person. But from now on, I'm like, leaving all the drawing up to you. I'll just stick to the easy stuff, like computer science. And baking. Have you ever tried my muffins?"

"I don't believe so."

"Then I'll have to bake them for you sometime."

Colossus grinned at her. "I look forward to it."

Kitty blushed and looked down, wishing that she and Peter were having this conversation somewhere quiet where they could be alone. Instead, they were surrounded by almost three dozen people celebrating, on account of today being the first anniversary of the mutants united victory against Apocalypse. Everyone from the X-men and the Brotherhood had come, setting aside their differences for one day and free food. The Professor, Magneto, Beast, and Storm were having what looked like a serious philosophical debate on the fate of the world, as usual. Logan was cautiously watching Pyro, who in turn was watching the fire from the barbecue just a little too enthusiastically. Jean and Scott were gazing adoringly at each other, oblivious to the fact that the New Mutants were standing behind them, mocking their every move. Rogue and Gambit were both trying to ignore each other while simultaneously sneaking glances at one another. Kurt was swimming, no doubt getting fur in the pool. Even Spike had crawled out of whatever tunnel he had been brooding in so that he could stand alone in the corner and look angry.

Over by the grill, Lance and the Brotherhood were keeping to themselves. 

"So Lance, how come you abandoned the pretty kitty to hang out with us? Did the two of you have another fight?" Pietro asked rapidly in his usual arrogant tone.

"Yeah" Toad added. "I would never leave my sweetums alone at a party. Or anywhere else" he said, hopping over to Wanda.

"I know," Wanda said irritably. "That's why I have to keep throwing hex bolts at you." She glared at him menacingly for a few seconds until he backed away nervously. Satisfied, Wanda turned her attention over to Kitty and Peter. They were sitting by the pool on the side of some lounge chairs, facing each other with their heads close together, laughing. "I wouldn't worry about your girlfriend, Lance. She doesn't look too lonely."

Lance glanced over at Kitty and felt a pang of anxiety. He definitely didn't like the way Peter was looking at his girlfriend, but he was more concerned about the lovesick way she was looking at him. He realized he shouldn't have left her to hang out with the Brotherhood, but lately she was so moody that it was almost impossible for them to be together for more then a few minutes without getting into a fight. But he cared about her and wanted to make their relationship work, figuring that she was probably the only good thing he had in his life. He grabbed some food to bring to her as a peace offering, confident that as soon as she saw how sorry she was, she'd forget all about the overgrown tin can she was laughing with. 

"Hey, Kitty" he said as he sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, "Why are you over here with the king of communism when you can be spending time with the king of the cookout? I brought you a hotdog" he told her proudly, obviously very impressed with himself.

"Well, your majesty" she said, rolling her eyes, "need I remind you that I'm Jewish. I, like, highly doubt that hot dog is Kosher. And for the five hundredth time, I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat." 

"And I'm not a communist," Colossus interjected, "at least not according to the western's worlds definition of-"

"Yeah, you know what Ruskie? I don't really care." Lance informed him abruptly.

"Lance, do you, like, even know what communism is?" Kitty asked in a tired voice.

"Yes. Yes I do," he declared with certainty. But before either of them could ask him to elaborate with a definition, he conveniently decided to change the subject. "So, what have the two of you been up to? Drawing pictures. Very mature, Peter. No offense, metal head, but this has to be the worst sketch I've ever seen. A first grader could do better. What is this, anyway? Some kind of...alien or...something? All I have to say is, don't quit your day job."

Peter forced a smile. "Actually, Lance, I didn't draw the picture. Kitty did."

"She did?" Avalanche asked nervously.

"Da."

"Oh...you know, now that I look at it, it's not so bad," he backtracked. "Really imaginative. And it really does look like an alien."

"Really?" Shadowcat asked sweetly.

Yeah, of course" he sputtered.

"That's funny, because it's a squirrel...sort of. But don't worry Lance, I drew another picture while you were so kindly critiquing my other one. Look, here's you and Peter in a fight." She held up a picture of two stick figures battling each other. The taller one's fist was hitting the shorter one in the mouth, with little squares falling to the ground that represented his teeth. "Hey Lance, guess whose winning?"

"Alright, alright, I get it, I'm sorry, ok? Now let me make it up to you by helping you fix your lunch. You can have, I don't know, a ketchup sandwich.

"Like, as tempting as that sounds, I think I'll go inside and get a soy patty out of the freezer. I'll be back in a few minutes." 

Both boys smiled as they watched Kitty's retreating form. When she was hidden from view inside the mansion, they both turned and glared at each other. "You don't have a chance with her. Stay away," Lance warned Peter, then went to rejoin his friends before he could respond. Peter frowned and laid back in his chair, wondering if Lance was right. He picked up Kitty's drawing and gazed at broodingly until he noticed Nightcrawler walk by. 

"Hey, Kurt," he said, shoving the picture in front of his face, "Does this look like me?"

His roommate gave him a funny look. "No, that doesn't look like you. That doesn't really look like anything. Why?"

"No reason, tovarisch." 

Back inside the mansion, Kitty didn't feel very hungry. Instead, she wandered across the hall into the rec room and watched the party through the window. She knew if she went back outside, she and Lance would get into another fight. "_You know whose fault this is?" _Kitty thought to herself. "_Peter's. He's so damn annoying. No, not annoying, sweet. A big softie. He doesn't talk much, but whenever he does he finds a way to make me smile. That's what's most annoying about him. When I'm with Lance, I think about Peter, but when I'm with Peter, I forget about Lance. I don't want to care about Peter as much as I do. He's three years older then me, a former acolyte, and I already have a boyfriend. I don't need him complicating things, especially after Lance and I have gone through so much to be together. Except maybe all we've gone through isn't enough to keep us together. To keep us happy..."_

"Katya? I wondered where you had gone off to."

She turned around, startled, and saw Colossus standing at the doorway. "Why Peter? Were you looking for me?" Kitty asked, blushing slightly at the special nickname her Russian teammate loved to call her by.

"Nyet!" Piotr responded, a little too quickly. "I mean I was just....lost. I was looking for the... the restroom."

"Down the hall, third door on the right. Same place it's been, like, the whole time you've lived here."

"I apologize for forgetting, I was distracted. By the party, I mean. Speaking of the party, aren't you going to join back in?"

"Maybe later. Right now I'm like kinda in a funny mood. I feel like I need some alone time to think."

"Would you like to talk about it?" he offered, moving closer to her.

Kitty gave him a grateful look. "Yeah, I would, but this is something I have to work out on my own, y'know?" 

Piotr nodded gravely. "I understand. But if you change your mind, the offer still stands."

"Thanks, Peter. That's, like, real sweet of you."

"Actually, it's selfish. I get something out of helping you."

"Yeah? And what's that?" she asked, a little suspiciously.

Peter reached up and gently pushed a lose piece of hair over her ear so he could see her face and grinned at the sight. "I get to see you smile," he told her softly.

Kitty blushed even deeper as he walked away, thankful that he had respected her wishes for privacy. He always seemed to understand her, although at times he was still a mystery to her. She briefly wondered if she had hurt his feelings by sending him away. "_With Peter, it's always so hard to tell with his accent and the way he's always so serious and stoned-faced. Or in his case, steel-faced,"_ Kitty thought with a giggle.

"Look at that, a smile. You must be thinking about me" Lance said as he walked up behind her.

Kitty jumped, surprised to hear her boyfriend's voice. "Oh, yeah. Of course" she said weakly, mentally scolding herself for lying to him.

"What are you doing up here? Come back to the party with me. I'm bored." 

"_Great, first he interrupts me, then he starts giving me orders" _Kitty thought, annoyed. Still, she smiled at him and in her sweetest voice asked "Lance, do you think for the rest of the day you could, like, just give me some time alone to think?"

"Come on, what do you need time to think about? What color to paint your nails? How about pink. There, now that you got your answer, you can join me in the pool...or better yet, the hot tub," Lance said suggestively.

"Lance, I'm serious, I want to be left alone!" 

"But what about hot tub time!?"

"It's not hot tub time, it's Kitty alone time." 

"Is this about that stupid drawing? I already said I was sorry. What more do you want?

"Sometimes Lance, you like totally don't get it!" Kitty yelled as she phased through the mansion's walls to the room she shared with Rogue. _"Why can't he just understand? Why can't he be more like Peter? I know Lance cares about me, after all, he did risk his life for me twice. But every time we try to try to do anything normal, we fight. It's not just the big events that should define a relationship, it's the little stuff, stupid, trivial moments that don't seem special to anyone but the two of you."_

She continued to rant to herself, not noticing how much time had gone by until Rogue walked in the room with a dopey, lovesick smile on her face that vanished the moment she realized she wasn't alone. 

"What are you doin' here?" she demanded. "Weren't you downstairs?"

"Nope, been inside almost the whole time. But I like, wouldn't expect you to notice when Gambit's around." Kitty said smugly.

"Ah do not like the Swamp Rat!"

"Like, duh, no one said you did." Kitty said innocently, enjoying watching her roommate squirm.

"Fine, think what ya want. Not like I care. And, not that you deserve this or anything, but Peter asked me to give you this," she said in her usual sullen manner as she tossed Kitty an envelope. 

Kitty unsealed it carefully and pulled out a sketch Peter had drawn of her standing next to a squirrel. On the back he had written her a note:

Katya,

A picture of you and I. Hope it makes you smile.

-Piotr Nikolievitch

"So what is it?" Rogue asked, hoping that it was something she could tease Kitty about. After all, she was always putting up with Shadowcat's comments about her and Remy. Kitty, giggling too hard to answer her, handed her Peter's artwork. "It's just a picture?" Rogue asked, confused why her roommate thought it was so funny. "He draws ahlmost ten of those a day. With all the fuss he made over it, Ah thought it was gonna be somethin' special."

Kitty smiled. "It is." 


	4. Chapter 4

Paint by Numbers 

Chapter 4 

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! Dark-Bat, I read your story "Shiny" and I loved it! Especially Illyana's conversation with Kitty and Kurt and Mikhail wearing an apron and cooking pancakes. Both amusing, but in very different ways.

Rahneman, I read your antiLance League story and couldn't stop laughing. For some reason, it only seems fitting that Pietro get taken down by a taser. And there will be a Lance/Piotr fight in this story eventually, just not for a few more chapters.

Thanks to Dark Whispers, The Rogue Witch, Nie Starwhistler, Kitrazzle Fayn, Lladyred01, ishandahalf,

*B, Dahiem, Trickster's-Lulaby, and anyone else I forgot for their reviews! 

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"Tell me again why we're watching this movie?" Lance asked as he followed Kitty into the living room of the Xavier mansion. 

"Because it was between this and "The Sound of Music," and you consider this to be the lesser evil," Kitty reminded him, popping the DVD in and grabbing the remote. 

"Oh. Right. "Casablanca" may be 70 years old and in black and white, but at least they don't spontaneously burst out into song." 

"Well....like, actually, they do. But it's only one song. And it's the French National Anthem, so at least it's educational!"

"Great. I really wanted an educational film," Lance grumbled.

"Maybe you would have a better time if you, like, stopped complaining. I know I would." _Great, _Kitty thought, _the date has barely even started, and already I'm annoyed with him. I've been doubting our relationship so much lately, I really need tonight to go well. _

"Why can't we watch the movie I picked out?" Lance whined, interrupting her thoughts.

Kitty rolled her eyes before forcing a smile on her face. "Because "Seven" isn't exactly a romantic date movie." 

"What are you talking about? There's a whole subplot just about the detective and his wife," Lance argued.

"Yes, but the wife gets her head severed off and it's sent to her husband in a cardboard box."

"And that makes him sad. That's love," Lance mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Sad? That's like, a totally generic emotion. You're saying that as long as you're "sad" when someone dies, it means you love them? I was sad when Boxer died in "Animal Farm". Doesn't mean I loved him."

"That's because Boxer was a pig," Lance told her patronizingly.

"Actually, he was a horse," Kitty mumbled as she stared at her boyfriend, who was continuing to scarf down the popcorn with his mouth open. _ Although you and Boxer both seem to share a common way of chewing food,_ she thought, disgusted. _How hard is it to close your mouth when you eat?_

"What?" Lance asked, noticing her staring at him with a look of annoyance. "Oh sorry, want some?" he asked, offering her the popcorn bowl. 

Kitty shook her head no and looked away, and the two of them sat for a few moments in an uncomfortable silence that was broken only by the sound of Lance's chewing. A few seconds later, the unspeaking couple were interrupted by Rogue, who came stomping into the room, closely followed by Gambit. She looked as irritated as Kitty felt.

"Hi guys! What have you been up to?" Kitty asked brightly, relieved to be able to turn her attention away from Lance and his damn chewing.

"Chere and I were spending a wonderful evening together," Remy told her smoothly.

"You followin' me around all night doesn't count as spending time together. Ah think the legal term is stalkin', Rogue grumbled, but Kitty could have sworn she saw her smile, just for a moment.

"We were just about to start "Casablanca." Do either of you want to join us?" Kitty asked, hoping that having other people in the room would ease some of the tension between her and her boyfriend. But judging from the way Lance was glaring at her, she didn't think he was too happy to have their date interrupted by a couple of interlopers. 

"Why would I waste time watching hommes romance filles onscreen when I could be doing the same thing in real life?" Remy asked playfully. 

"Good point, Remy. Guess I'll see you later then," Lance said, happy to see him go.

"If he's goin', then Ah'll stay," Rogue said, plopping down on the empty loveseat.

"Stay?" Lance asked, his smile fading once again. "And watch some sappy, boring-"

"Who said I'm going?" Remy interrupted. "M'be I watch and pick up a few pointers, non? Not that I need them, right chere?" the Cajun asked flirtatiously as he slid into the empty space next to her.

Rogue just snorted and looked away.

Remy seemed to take this as his invitation to move a little closer to her. But before he could try another line, he was distracted by a familiar fire and brimstone *bamf* as Nightcrawler teleported in.

"Ahh, I was wondering where all the snacks had gone," Kurt exclaimed as he grabbed a bowl of chips off the coffee table.

"Food's in here, and apparently so is everyone else" Lance mumbled to himself

"We were just about to watch a movie. Ya in?" Rogue asked her brother.

"Of course I'm in. There's food," he explained to her as he took a seat in the empty armchair.

"You know Kurt, you could just take all the food to the kitchen and eat it there," Lance said hopefully.

"I could," Kurt nodded, pretending to think about it. "But I won't. Hey Peter! You can stop raiding the kitchen! Snacks are in here!" he called to his friend across the hall.

Piotr wandered in casually, wearing an undershirt covered in old paint stains that Kitty though nicely displayed his muscles. His face darkened when he caught sight of Lance.

"Turns out I'm not all that hungry Kurt. I think I'll just go upstairs and read," he said gruffly.

"C'mon, stay!" Kitty pleaded. "We're all watching "Casablanca," she added. "Have you ever seen it?"

"If he has, he probably didn't like it," Kurt told her. "He's hated every movie I've ever shown him, and they were good ones, too. I mean, who doesn't like James Bond or Austin Powers?"

Peter shrugged sheepishly. "For some reason I have a strange aversion to all stories about British spies."

"Well, if you've never seen a movie you liked, then you should definitely watch this, 'cause Casablanca's like the mother of all movies," Kitty told him encouragingly. 

"Kitty," Lance murmured in her ear, "I don't want him here. Tell him to-"

"Hey Lance!" Kurt whispered, tapping him on the shoulder. "I finished the chips. Do you want the bowl? You can use it as a new helmet for your uniform," he said, deadpan.

Lance said nothing, but responded by making the ground below him rumble. 

"Stop it!" Kitty hissed, slapping him on the arm. "If you can't behave, then just go home. You can be, like, so immature sometimes." Then she turned her attention to Colossus. "Peter, you are not going to go sit in your room alone like a hermit. You are going to sit down and watch the movie with the rest of us," she ordered.

"Look, there's an empty seat next to Kitty. All settled?" Rogue asked, as Peter squeezed himself onto the couch next to Kitty. Their thighs and shoulders touched, and Kitty could feel the muscles in his leg tighten nervously. "Now," Rogue continued, "Can y'all just shut up? The movie's startin'."

Usually, "Casablanca" would entrance Kitty from the moment the Warner Brother's logo popped up until "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." But tonight, she was distracted. Lance had his arm possessively around her, but she was more interested with how warm and comfortable it felt to have her leg rest against Peter's. And she couldn't help sneaking glances at his face to see how he was reacting to the movie. If Lance noticed any of this, he didn't say anything. But he did keep a tighter grip on her shoulder than usual.

Finally, the end credits rolled, and Kurt flipped the lights back on. 

"I liked it," Lance said.

"You did?" Kitty asked him, surprised. 

"Yeah. Sure, the girl gets distracted by another guy. But in the long run she figures out that her husband was the only one who could make her happy. Her affair with the other guy was just a phase. I mean, she barely even knew him. In the end, the husband wins." 

"Were you watchin the same movie we were? Nobody won. Elsa has these two great guys after her, and all she does is string them along. Ah don't see why they think she's so perfect. The woman is weak. In the end, she never even makes a decision, she let's Rick make it for her. If she really loved either of them, she'd have made a real choice. She probably just liked all the attention. Reminds me of Jean," she muttered, making a face.

Kitty shifted uncomfortably in her seat at Rogue's comments, but stayed quiet.

"Both hommes reminded me of myself. I'm a mix of both hero's best qualities" Gambit proclaimed.

"Ah'd say you're more like Louis," Rogue corrected him. "A sneaky, untrustworthy thief. Plus, ya speak French."

"Dat I do. And an excellent thief I am. Hearts are my specialty," Gambit replied, smiling flirtatiously at his favorite southerner.

"It's getting late, Lance. I think it's time for you to go," Kitty whispered to him as Rogue and Remy continued to banter.

He nodded. "Walk with me to my car?"

Lance's jeep was parked on the main road as he refused to leave it inside the mansion's gates, afraid that that Scott might use it for target practice. During the trip to the car Kitty was uncharacteristically quiet. Lance had been around her long enough to know that this was never a good sign. In his general experience, it either meant that she had eaten her own cooking again and was about to hurl, or she had bad news that she didn't want to share with him. He had a sinking feeling that whatever was upsetting her had nothing to do with her stomach, and everything to do with their relationship. This was not a conversation Lance was particularly looking forward to, and he knew the best way of manipulating Kitty out of this mood was to play the good boyfriend for a few minutes and pretend to talk about "feelings and all that crap."

"How about next Friday we watch "Braveheart?" It's got blood, guts, and romance. It's even educational," he told her.

"No," she said in a flat tone. Lance, realizing that his usual subtle manipulation wasn't going to cut it this time, went in for a new approach.

"Ok, we can get something else. Anything for my girl. That's how much I love you."

"Lance, I meant that I.... you said you loved me!" she said, taken aback.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"But you've never said that before," she told him despondently.

"I should have. Now that's a no on Braveheart then? Why don't you pick. Just, no singing. And color would be a plus. What are your thoughts on "Star Wars?" 

"Look, Lance, I really think we need-"

"To get one of the original three episodes? No Phantom Menace Attacking Clones crap? No problem. Is "Empire Strikes Back ok with you?" She didn't respond, and just kept looking away, not meeting his eyes. "Did you hear me? Kitty?"

"I don't want to be Elsa!" she blurted out.

He looked at her like she was insane. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I don't want to be some weak girl who leads two guys on and is too afraid to ever make a real choice!"

"A choice?" he exploded. "A choice? I'm your boyfriend, Kitty. You shouldn't even be at a point where you think there's some kind of choice to be made!"

"I know, but I am," she said quietly, looking down at her feet. "We both knew this was coming sooner or later."

" I didn't think you were fooling around with another guy behind my back! But this probably isn't the first time, is it? What else have you done? Have you and Nightcrawler been messing around the whole time we've been together? Or what about you and your precious Mr. Logan? The two of you have always been so "close". Or maybe you and that kid that always follows you around? Yeah, the one who makes duplicates of himself?"

"Lance, don't be gross," she snapped. "You're mad at me, I get it. So take it out on me. But don't drag my friends into this and start spewing this...this ridiculous trash about them! You want to know what I've been doing with Peter behind your back? Talking! That's it! And that w-"

"Talking?" he asked, laughing as though that was the most ludicrous thing he'd ever heard. "You expect me to believe someone as slutty as you would just-"

"God, Lance, you're vulgar! And I am not a slut!" she forcefully declared.

"Yeah, not with me, but you must be with the rest of them. Or do you expect me to believe that they like you for your sparkling personality? Or maybe it's your conversational skills. But that's only if they like to listen to endless lecture about important things, like why the mall is like, so the best place in the world, or how purple is totally the new pink, or how you're upset because your rich parents would only let you buy the black pair of boots, not the black and the brown," he mocked. 

"And you wonder why I picked Peter over you!" she muttered scornfully.

"Fine. You want to dump me, your boyfriend, who loves you,"- Kitty rolled her eyes- "for some Russian tin can that you barely even know-"

"I know him!" she shouted vehemently. Lance glared at her with a look of pure disgust on his face. Then his eyes rolled partially back into his head, and the ground directly around Kitty started to shake.

"Lance, stop it," she ordered. The earth beneath her only shook harder, and Kitty was afraid that he was going to send out a quake big enough to crumble the mansion along with everyone in it. She lost her balance and tripped, but protected herself by phasing through the dirt. In her intangible form, she easily navigated her way underground and pulled herself up behind Lance. "Stop," she said firmly, putting her hand on his shoulder. He jerked away and turned to face her. "Please?" she asked. 

For a moment, the rumbling only grew fiercer. Then, abruptly, it stopped. Kitty breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at Lance, trying to read his expression, but his face was hidden in shadow. 

"Lance, I'm...." she trailed off, desperately trying to think of something deep or insightful to say.

"You're what?" he prompted irritably.

"I'm sorry. I know, it's a stupid thing to say, but sometimes only a stupid thing seems to fit." He still didn't respond. "Ok, I guess I'm, like, gonna go. See you around. Bye."

"Kitty?" he asked as she started walking away. "Can you just do one thing for me?"

She stopped walking and turned around to face him. "Sure. Anything."

"I know you and Captain Communism are all chummy now and everything, but do you think you could wait awhile before you hook up with him or anyone else?" he pleaded.

The look in Kitty's eyes showed that she clearly was not in favor of this idea. "Lance, I can't," she told him quietly.

"You said you'd do anything," he told her accusingly. "Were you lying to me- again? I'm not asking for much, just a few weeks," he wheedled. 

"If this is some kind of game, some kind of trick, part of a plan to get back at me....."

"No trick, no game. I just want some time for my ego to heal. It's a little bruised right now. I think you owe me that much" he said forlornly. 

"Fine," she caved, "I won't start dating him for a few weeks," Kitty said gloomily.

"Promise?" he asked.

"Promise."

"What's your definition of a few weeks?" he questioned.

"Three weeks."

"Four," Lance told her. 

"Don't push it," Kitty told him, shaking her head.

Lance nodded. "Ok. Bye, I guess," he told her, as he climbed into his jeep. Kitty held up her hand to wave bye. She waited until his car disappeared around the bend before she trudged back to the mansion. Since she was technically hostess for tonight's little get together, it was her job to clean up the mess they had made in the living room. From the looks of it, everyone else had gone to sleep while she and Lance were having their little scream fest. She suspected none of them bothered to help clean before they went to bed, so she was surprised when she went inside and found Colossus in the living room, cleaning up all the m&m's Kurt had been pelting at Rogue off the floor.

"Peter, no. This is my mess. You don't have to help me," she told him

"I don't mind. I like helping you."

She made a weak attempt to smile, which, to Piotr's credit, did not go unnoticed.

"Are you alright, Katya?" he questioned, concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Just tired. It's real late y'know, and I still got to put this stuff in the dishwasher," she said, motioning to the bowls on the coffee table.

"I'll do that. You just turn off the lights and go to bed."

"No, Peter, it's my responsibility. I'll do it."

"Nyet. You got to order me to watch the movie earlier, now I get to order you to go to sleep." She nodded in agreement, too tired to argue.

He gathered up the dishes and left her alone in the room. Kitty wanted to run after Piotr and tell him what had happened, about all the cruel thing Lance had said about her, about how guilty she felt for hurting him. Mostly, she just wanted him to hold her in his safe arms and tell her that she was a good person. But she didn't, because she knew that if she did, if she placed herself that close to him, she would never be able to keep her promise to Lance. Kitty turned off the lights and flopped down on the couch, aimlessly flipping through channels, hoping to take her mind off reality. It didn't work. She threw the remote down on the couch and put her head in her hands. Three weeks. She finally broke up with Lance to be with Peter, and now she had to wait another three weeks, all because she felt too guilty to tell her ex-boyfriend no. Kitty was happy to have broken things off with Lance, but with this promise she felt like she still wasn't free of him. She just felt so tired.

Piotr was about to walk up the stairs to his room when he noticed the dim blue light of the t.v. spilling into the hall from the living room. Rubbing his eyes, he padded across the hallway to go turn it off. 

"Kitty?" he whispered from the doorway, noticing her chestnut colored hair spilling over the top of the couch. When she didn't answer, he treaded softly over to her. 

"Kitty?" He asked again, shaking her gently.

She eyes blinked open, looking confused. "What happened? Is there a sale at the mall?" she asked sleepily. 

Peter chuckled. "No, not today. I'm going to help you up to your bed, alright?"

She nodded, still only partially awake. He picked her up and she instinctively placed her arms around his neck and snuggled up to his strong chest. Cautiously, Piotr made his way up the stairs to her room and lightly placed Kitty into her bed.

"Peter?" she mumbled groggily. 

"Shhh," Piotr whispered. "Rogue's still asleep," he explained, glancing over his shoulder at Kitty's roommate, who had rolled over in their direction.

When he turned around he saw that his Katya was once again under the enchantment of the sandman. He stared at her soft face, illuminated by the pale gentle glow of the quarter moon that came streaming through the windows. In his eyes, she was as lovely as Briar Rose, the sleeping beauty personified, and for a moment he was tempted to play the role of the prince and breathe life into her with his kiss. But Piotr Rasputin was an honorable man, and he knew he had neither the permission or the right to such an personal act. Instead, he leaned down and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Katerina," he whispered in her ear, before tearing himself away.

As Peter turned to walk across the room, Rogue quickly squeezed her eyes shut and for a second time that night pretended to be asleep, waiting until she heard the door close and the faint creaking of the old wood in the hallway before daring to open them again. She lifted her head up off the pillow and looked over at Kitty, who was still sound asleep, an look of utter contentment on her face. Rogue smiled, amused, suppressing the familiar flash of jealousy and sorrow that raged inside her every time she saw two people touch, focusing instead on imagining the look of joy her roommate would have on her face tomorrow when she told her what she had witnessed. 

*************************************************************************************

Thanks for reading! Leave a review, it can be my Christmas present! Anyway, I'm not sure how long it will be before I post the next chapter, so here's some hints about what's coming: Lance won't be in the next few chapters, but in time he will return. Christmas is coming up for the mutants (I realize that the seasons aren't really matching up, since they had a pool party in the last chapter, but I'm from Southern California, so I lack a basic fundamental understanding of the four seasons. It was 89 degrees today in my city, and I was cold.) Oh yeah, and my favorite comic character of all time will be making a "little" appearance. Anyway, if I don't post before the 25th, have a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Christmas, or a Happy Hanukkah, or a Happy Boxing Day, or a Happy-Get -A-Lot-of-Presents-in-Return-for- Spending-A-Day-With- A- Horde- of- Dysfunctional- Relatives-Whose-Names-You-Don't-Remember-Day (I celebrate that!) or whatever you choose or am forced to celebrate. 


	5. Chapter 5

Paint By Numbers 

Chapter 5

__________________

"Ah, look at dat. Lady Luck is sending you a message," Remy informed Piotr, in reference to the Queen of Hearts he had just dealt him. The two boys were playing Blackjack near the front of the Blackbird, which was en route to Muir Island, where the X-Men were going to help set up the finishing touches on a genetics research lab run by an old acquaintance of the professor's. Later that day, the jet would also be flying to the Ust-Ordynski Collective in Russia so Piotr could visit his family. Currently, however, Colossus seemed more concerned about starring blankly at his card with a strange grimace on his face, which Gambit took to be an unflattering cross between a hopeful smile and a despondent frown. "Why not share the sign with petite Katie over dere?" Gambit asked him slyly, tapping the card with his index finger. 

"That's alright, tovarisch. I do not think she would appreciate it," he said doubtfully, glancing over his seat to the back of the plane where Kitty and Rogue were sitting together, having a hushed conversation. 

"Oh, but I think she would," he disagreed shrewdly. 

"And I think you would say anything to distract me so you can look at my cards." 

"Please, mon ami, would dis face lie to you?" 

"Da. Without hesitation," Piotr said, stone faced.

"Dat's true. But not in dis case. After all, what women doesn't want to know when a man holds her in his heart?" he asked, flipping his cards over to show a nineteen.

"One who does not return those affections," Colossus said miserably, turning over his other card, an ace, giving him a twenty-one.

"And what makes you think dat?"he asked casually, dealing a new hand.

"I think her actions these past weeks have made it fairly obvious," Piotr told him pessimistically, motioning for another card.

"I wouldn't be so sure," he said knowledgeably. "Filles, dey don't think like us. They crazy," he explained, gathering up his cards to reshuffle the deck. "You want proof? Look who Katie hangs out with," he said, motioning to Rogue. At the same moment, she looked up, and their eyes locked. He grinned flirtatiously at her, and Gambit could feel his heart skip a beat as she glared at him in return. "Then again," he told Peter, still grinning, "m'be we be the crazy ones, non?" 

***

From the other end of the jet, Rouge glared defensively at Gambit until he turned away, then focused her attention back to her conversation with Kitty. "You know, Ah think it's good that Peter's going to visit his family. It'll cheer him up. Even I think he's been acting moody lately. Kurt says he's been spendin' all his time in his room, starring at some special painting he won't let him see. He's not actually painting anything, just staring. And brooding. Followed by more staring. Remind you of anyone?" she asked her cynically. 

Kitty rolled her eyes and ignored her friend's comment. "I'm just happy to have a few days away from Lance. I mean, he calls all the time and he's always trying to send me presents, like some stuffed bear is going to fix everything between us. I mean, at first I thought he understood it was over, but he keeps saying this breakup is just like some phase I'm going through or something. I guess he like, thinks that as long as I'm not with someone else he still has a chance. Not like I have a choice," she muttered, her voice full of resentment.

"So Ah take it you don't miss him then?" she said dryly.

"How can I miss him? He never leaves me alone!"Kitty hissed, looking around to make sure no one had heard her. " And every time he calls it reminds me of how guilty I feel for hurting him. Then I feel angry with him for asking me to make that stupid promise, then I get angry at myself for agreeing to it, then I feel even more guilty for being angry at him when he's the one who should be angry at me, and it's just a whole big mess" Kitty quietly ranted. "All I want is to put this entire thing behind me and be free to move on, but I can't," she moaned, burying her head in her hands. 

"It's all right, Kit," she said awkwardly, trying her best to sound comforting. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, like I'm really going to share my love life with a girl who two days ago threatened to punch the guy we all know she's in love with just because he tried to cook her dinner," she replied sullenly.

"If you had tasted his gumbo, you'd want to beat him too. And don't go changin' the subject. This isn't about me and Gambit."

"Funny, I don't think I ever mentioned Gambit's name," she teased, squeezing her eyes shut and phasing instinctively as she waited for Rogue to slap her on the head, as usual. After a few seconds had passed without any complaints from her friend, Kitty cautiously opened her eyes and saw Rogue starring ahead, wearing a rare genuine smile, for once not bothering to try to hide it. She understood the reason when she followed her friend's gaze to the back of Gambit's head, but found her attention being drawn over to Peter who, feeling someone watching him, turned around. Before he could see her, Kitty quickly slumped down in her seat and lowered her head, refusing to look him in the eye.

"If you ask me, that boy spoiled you. Made ya think you can do no wrong in his eyes." Rogue scolded, wrenching her attention back to her friend and away from her favorite thief.

Kitty remained silent. 

"Why didn't you tell him you broke up with Lance?" she questioned. 

Kitty shrugged. 

"He had to hear it from Jamie," Rogue continued. "And Jamie's always the last one to know anything. Why do you keep hidin' from him?"she asked.

"I don't know," Shadowcat replied miserably.

"Kitty!" Rouge voiced skeptically.

"I don't!" she protested

"Kit, you can't lie to me about this. Ah'm still labeled around here as the queen of self-destructive behavior. Ah know how it feels to sabotage your own relationships. That's how Ah know that you know why you're doin' it, even if you can't admit it to yourself." Kitty stayed silent after Rogue finished talking, watching the tops of the clouds roll by outside the Blackbird's windows, smiling as they remind her of the blissful day she and Peter had spent by the lake.

"Rogue?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah?"

"It's because...because he scares me. I mean, not him personally, but the idea of me and him in a relationship," Kitty confessed.

"But you've already had a relationship with Lance, and you've seen the worst. You know you're strong enough-"

"That's different," she interrupted. "Lance was my first boyfriend, not my first love."

Rogue inhaled sharply. She had known for months that her roommate had a crush on Colossus, but she had no idea her feelings for him were this strong. In the back of her mind, she still remembered Kitty as the shallow, self-centered girl she had first at the Institute all those years ago, the girl who couldn't only love another person with anymore intensity than she could a Louis Vuitton purse. _Of course_, Rogue thought to herself, _she isn't like that anymore. She's grown and matured into a much more compassionate and grounded person who cares as much for her teammates as she does for herself. And if Kitty was willing to embrace change and move forward in life, maybe it's time for me to do so as well_" she realized, picturing Remy's face in her mind. But for the moment, she needed to focus on helping Kitty. "Do you love Peter?" she asked her gently.

"I don't know. What I do know, is that every day, I get a little bit closer to knowing, and a lot more scared of the answer," she told her friend, terrified that she had just admitted her feelings for him to another person.

"Then it's time you face your fear. Cause between the two of us, Ah'm sick of havin' to be the cheerful one," she ordered with a smile.

***

The Blackbird landed on schedule and the X-men piled out onto the landing dock, where they were greeted by a brown haired woman wearing glasses and a yellow uniform under a white lab coat "Welcome, everyone," she said in a thick Scottish accent. "My name is Dr. Moira MacTaggert. I studied genetics at Oxford University, alongside yuir professor there. This land has been in my family for generations, and although I'm not a mutant myself, I have...experiences with them which made me choose to create a facility dedicated to studying their unique genetic structures. Now, enough wasting time with introductions. If you'll all follow me to the med lab, I can start handing out yuir individual assignments. Oh, and Charles," she said quietly, placing a hand affectionately on his shoulder. "I brought ye some of my special coffee. I know how much ye like it."

"Er, thank you Moira," he said, starring at the thick, murky substance inside the mug. "I've been needing something to grease my wheelchair." 

As the group left the hanger, Rogue dragged Kitty back to the plane, where Peter was in his armored form, unloading supplies. "Hey Petey!" Rogue yelled, "Kitty here has something to give you," she told him, pushing her friend toward the Russian, then running to catch up with the others.

"Well, actually, it's for your sister." she told him shyly, handing him a small box with a silver snowflake pendant inside. Piotr stared t it for a long time without speaking.

"Why are you doing this?" he finally asked in a strained voice.

"Because you've told me so much about Illyana and then I saw this on sale at the mall a few days ago and I thought it would-"

"Nyet- no, I mean why are you doing...this? he asked motioning with his hands to everything around him.

"Um, doing what?" she asked uneasily.

"You come into my life, and you let me make a fool out of myself, let me think there's a chance that the feelings I have for you could be returned, then you just avoid me-"

"I wasn't avoiding you!" she lied.

"I know I'm not as smart as you are, but I'm not an idiot." he told her sadly, a touch of bitterness in his voice.

"I don't think you're an idiot!" "I- I think you're wonderful. I've always thought that, ever since Egypt, when you smashed in the wall and told me you "grew concerned." I thought you were so adorable. And sweet. And kind and caring and brave. And I couldn't understand how you could really be the person I thought you were if you worked for Magneto, but then, I found out you worked for him because you were exactly who I thought you were, because you could never let the people you love suffer. But by then it didn't matter because I was already with someone else and I barely knew you. And Lance told me he loved me, right before we broke up. It's one of those moments I spent my whole life waiting for, and in my head I'd built it up to be this huge event that changes everything, that makes you happier then you ever knew was possible. But when he told me, I just wanted to cry, because all I could think about was how badly I wanted to hear those words from someone else. That's when I knew I had to end it with him, because he would never make me happy, and because I would never have the feelings for him that I have for you. And maybe this whole three week waiting period is a good thing. I mean, when I broke up with Lance, the first thing I wanted to do is go running straight to you and forget everything that happened. But if I had done that, you would have ended up as the rebound guy, and you deserve to be more than that. I want you to be more than that," she rambled, not sure what she had even said.

"What are you talking about, waiting period?" he asked, beginning to understand.

"When I broke up with Lance, he made me promise not to see anyone else for at least three weeks," she reluctantly admitted to him.

"Oh." Piotr looked down at the necklace in his hands, and stayed very still, unsure of what he wanted to say next. "Did you...." he began, distracted by the look on her face. Her eyes were moist and she was biting her trembling bottom lip to keep from crying. She looked so endearing that he couldn't help but forgive her instantly. "Did you have anyone in mind?" he asked mischievously. 

"I did, but apparently, he doesn't think very much of me right now," she pouted, looking away.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked quietly, transforming back into his normal form and gently cupping her chin in his strong hand and tilting her head up so he could see into her eyes.

"I don't know," she murmured, phasing away from his grasp. "Lots of reasons, I guess. All those things I said earlier, about you being so wonderful? I meant those. But Lance, he said some things, some not so nice things to me, about me, and I started thinking that maybe all the stuff he said was true, and that I didn't deserve you. I was afraid that if I told you about the promise, you wouldn't want to wait for me, and at the same time, I was afraid that you would, and I didn't know which option scared me more. So instead I just, I didn't do anything."

"It's hard to sit here and listen to this-"

"It's been hard for me, too! I know, that's no excuse, but it's the truth. There's been so many times when I've wanted to forget about what I said to Lance and move on, but I gave my word. And I know I did things wrong, and I hurt you, and for that, I'm so sorry. I've made mistakes, and eventually I'll make more. But you're not a mistake. I know that," she told him sincerely.

Colossus laughed. "What I was going to say, Katya, is that it's hard to sit here and listen to this without being able to kiss you." She blushed and turned away, embarrassed by the giant grin that was spreading across her face. "I've been so quick to blame you for everything, but, in truth, I am also to fault. Much as I tried not to, I knowingly put myself in between you and Lance. And after you left him, I waited for you to come to me, when I should have just been upfront with you. I guess I haven't had a lot of experience with this type of relationship," he told her apologetically. 

"I understand," she said, starting to smile. "I mean, you did spend a good part of your formative teenage years forced to work for a deranged megalomaniac intent on taking over the world. That probably didn't leave you with a lot of free time to date."

"Mostly I just moved boxes." She laughed. "So three weeks, then?"he asked her wistfully.

"Actually, it's down to eleven days. Ooh, ten with the time change!" she told him excitedly, calculating the difference between New York and U.K. time zones.

"Doesn't really seen fair, does it? We've spent nearly two weeks not speaking to each other, and now that we have finally talked, we about to be away from each other for another three days."

"Well, you know, you could always stay on Muir Island with us," she joked.

"Or you could come with me to Siberia," Piotr told her earnestly

"You serious?" she asked in disbelief. He nodded. 

"Yes?" She asked again.

"Yes," He repeated

"Da?" Kitty asked, wanting to make sure he was absolutely certain.

"Da." He grinned at her, his playful mood was contagious.

"You know, once I see your home you have to show me that special painting of yours, so I can compare." 

"We'll see," he told her mysteriously. "Katya?" he asked as she walked off to tell the professor about her change in plans, "This promise you made, how exactly does it work? Where do we draw the line?"

Kitty looked confused, then a mischievous smile spread over her face. "We'll see," she told him, as she phased out of the room. And left alone, with nothing but the memory of her face to keep him company, Piotr smiled.

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*Author's note- I sincerely apologize to everyone reading this fic for the exceedingly slow update! I haven't been able to go online since my Grandma has decided that since she's old, she's got to get rid of all her money before she dies, so she sent me and my sister on a trip to Italy for Christmas because, and I quote, "now that were both eighteen, we need to find husbands, so we can go to Europe to have a fling to get it out of our systems before settling down." Despite being based on horribly outdated misogynistic views , I thought it was a nice gift , especially considering that last year she gave me a can opener and a used Frank Sinatra tape. Of course, my cousins got ten thousand dollars, because they're boys, and they need the money for education. Apparently girls don't need to learn things, cause it just gives them ideas. Sorry, now I'm just ranting. Anyway, once I came home I told myself no internet until I finished this chapter, so of course I got hit with writer's block. I remember reading an article about Scott Lobdell where he said the only time you get writer's block is when you have characters doing something they wouldn't normally do, and I have 4 completely finished handwritten alternate versions of this chapter that have different plots and directions, and none of them seemed to make sense, but this one seemed to flow the best. I didn't really want to write this chapter, but it no matter what I did I couldn't seen to get around it. But I'm halfway done with the next chapter, and it's tone is much calmer and sweeter than this one. That should be posted by next Thursday, Sunday at the latest.

And finally, and most importantly, thank you for all the great reviews, you guys spoil me. If you read anything you don't like, please tell me, so hopefully I can make it better in the next chapter. Unless of course, the part of the story you don't like is that Kitty's with Piotr, not Lance. Then you just really need to stop reading the story, cause you're not gonna be too happy with the ending. And I promise, Update coming soon!


	6. Chapter 6

"Is Piotr your boyfriend?" Illyana asked curiously, as she helped Kitty lay down the blankets a few yards from the house while Colossus was gone collecting firewood. It was the two X-Men's last night in Russia, tomorrow the Blackbird would be coming to take them back to Scotland, and Illyana had begged to sleep outside and pretend they were camping. 

"He's, well, I mean, we're still-" she stuttered, surprised by the bluntness of the six year old's question.

"How come you never kiss?" she interrupted, tired of Kitty's stammering. 

"It's complicated." The little girl stared at her blankly. "There are things in the way," she explained.

"You mean like witches and spells and big scary monsters?" she asked, wide eyed. "Cause I bet anything Piotr will fight them for you. Then you can kiss." 

"And what makes you think it works like that?" Kitty teased, amused by the child's innocence.

"Because that's what happens in all the fairy tales," she said slowly, confused by the notion that things could turn out any differently then "happily ever after". But she quickly forgot about it, turning her attention instead to surveying their handiwork. "You should move Piotr's bed further away from yours if you want to get any sleep tonight," Illanya told Kitty authoritatively. 

"What? Why?"she asked, a little shocked. Illyana looked around and motioned for her to come closer.

"He snores" she whispered conspiringly into her ear. "Loud." 

Kitty laughed. "You are the precocious one, aren't you?"

A few moments later, Colossus joined them and lit a fire, more for the light then the heat. Illyana listened intently as her brother told her the story of how he and the X-Men about fought Apocalypse and saved the world. It was obvious to Kitty that the girl worshipped her big brother. By the time Piotr finished the story, it was late, and the three decided to go to bed. A few hours later, Kitty was in the middle of a rather nice dream when she felt someone shake her.

"Katya? Please wake up," a frightened little voice whispered. Kitty rolled over and found herself staring at the pale young face of Illyana Rasputin, who looked ready to burst into tears

"What's wrong?" Kitty asked, concerned. "Are you ok?"

"No," the little girl sniffled. "I had a bad dream."

"Oh," Kitty breathed, relieved. For years now the only reasons she'd been awakened in the middle of the night was for surprise drills or emergency missions. It was strangely comforting to be woken simply to attend to something as normal as a small child's nightmare. "It's alright," she soothed. "Dreams can't hurt you, especially when you have me and your brother here to protect you. Do you want to go back inside the house?"

"No, I want to stay out here with the big kids."

"You sure?" Illyana nodded. "Ok. Here, take Martin," she said, handing the girl her green stuffed dragon she'd had since she was a child. "When I first moved to from my home to the Institute, I took him with me to keep me safe. He'll chase all the nightmares away."

"Ok," she whispered, trying her best to be brave.

Kitty helped tuck her in and watched affectionately over the small blonde girl for a few moments before settling back into her own makeshift bed. She was just drifting back to sleep when she was once again interrupted. 

"Katya? Are you still awake?" Illyana whispered.

"Yeah, Blondie. What's up?"

"I'm still scared. Can you tell me a story?"

"Snowflake? Why are you still up?" Piotr asked groggily 

"I needed help."

"Why? Is it Magneto- are you hurt?" he asked, panicked, still not fully awake.

"Peter, everything's ok, she's alright. It was just a bad dream, that's all." 

"Oh," Piotr said, calmer now, but still visibly upset. "I'm sorry, I should never have told you the story about Apocalypse. It was to scary, it probably caused your nightmare," he apologized, his voice heavy with guilt. Would you like to hear a happier story?" he asked his sister, knowing it was the best way to put her to sleep.

"No, I want Katya to do it. I bet she tells them better."

Kitty giggled. "The kid's got taste. Can't argue with that. Now, let's see. Once upon a time, where all true fairy tales begin... "

Illyana sat on her brother's lap and listened, wide eyed, with Martin clutched tightly to her chest, as Kitty told her about the adventures of Pirate Kitty and her one true, er, friend, Colossus, who journeyed the seas looking for adventure. During their travels, the pair met a prince and a wizard in search of the prince's true love, Princess Jean, who was under the enchantment of the evil curse of the Phoenix. With the help of Kitty's Dragon and their new found friends: a Bamf, a genie, and a Fiend With No Name, they chased after the cursed princess, hoping to free her and ensure that she and the prince live as they should, happily ever after. 

"She's asleep," Piotr said quietly after Kitty had finished her story. 

"Yeah, my story must have really wowed her. So what did you think?" she whispered. 

"I think my story would have been better," he teased.

"And why's that?" she demanded in mock resentment.

"Because it means something to me. I can relate to it," Peter told her, his tone growing serious. 

"Well I don't think Illyana's in the state to properly appreciate it, but you could still tell me," she said, smiling hopefully at him.

"Have you ever heard the story of the Snow Queen?" he asked, gently putting his sister down, careful not to wake her as he moved to sit next to Kitty. After she shook her head, he continued with the story. "It begins with a hobgoblin who makes a mirror. This mirror, it is cursed so that all things good and beautiful appear wicked and ugly, while all things bad are magnified until they become the only things you can see. The hobgoblin gave the mirror to his students, who carried it up to the heavens to mock the angels. But the higher the demons went, the heavier it became, until it slipped from their hands and shattered into a million pieces. One of those pieces landed in the eye of a boy who had been watching the snowflakes fall from the sky, and it began to freeze his heart. Soon after, the boy was taken from his home to a dark, vast fortress, far away from those he had once loved, and with each passing day, his heart grew colder and colder, until it was no more than a lump of ice. He could no longer see the goodness or beauty in the world, only ugliness and cruelty, and he became callous and cruel. The only way to win his freedom from this dark place was to solve a puzzle, but no matter what he did or how long he worked, he could not find the answer. So he remained as he was, trapped, unable to be his own master.

But then a girl came, and reminded him of all things in the world that were beautiful and good. She stirred his heart, and her warmth and kindness melted the ice inside him. He shed tears of joy for being able to feel again, and as he cried the splinter of glass was washed from his eye, and his spirit shone as bright and pure as the girl standing before him. She led him out of the darkness into the light, and the world was beautiful once again." Piotr looked back at Kitty. "Do you understand?" 

Kitty didn't say a word. She just smiled shyly, and placed half of her blanket around his broad shoulders.

Piotr smiled back at her for a moment, then looked up at the sky. "It's late. We should be going to sleep," he told her, reluctantly getting up to move back to his own bed. 

"No, look" she said, grabbing his hand. "The sun's about to rise. I've never really sat and watched that before. Besides," she reasoned, "By the time we get to sleep, it'll be morning already." 

Colossus allowed Kitty to pull him back down next to her. As they watched the sun rise over the lonely mountains and fill the valley with light, Illyana's body stirred under the warmth but she continued to sleep, her mind still hanging on to the last remnants of her dream. A few feet away, Piotr put his arm around Kitty as she rested her head against his shoulder, "and there they both sat, grown up and yet children, children at heart. And it was summer-warm, beautiful summer." *

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* Excerpted from Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen"

Disclaimer: To give credit where credit is do, I blatantly stole the lines "Yeah, my story must have really wowed her" and "Pirate Kitty and her one true, er, friend, Colossus", as well as the idea's for Kitty's fairy tale from UXM #153, which is a very sweet little issue in which absolutely nothing of great future importance happens but it still has a few subtle lines (with the exception of Jean calling Scott "Lion of my heart") that advances character definition better than a years worth of Chuck Austin stories. I'm sure anyone who read "The Draco" story arc agrees with me. And now there's rumors that Marvel is giving Austin, the man who has destroyed decades of character definition and disregarded or rewrote years of established X-Men history on a whim, a Nightcrawler solo series. I weep for you, Kurt. 

But I digress. Hope you liked this chapter, I enjoyed writing it. But I couldn't bring myself to name the green stuffed dragon she has on the show Lockheed. It just felt wrong. But I thought Martin was an appropriate alternative choice, given the comicverse origin of Lockheed's name. Oh, and sorry there was no ROMY in this chapter, I couldn't fit it in anywhere. But it will definitly be back next chapter, which will hopefully be up around next Monday. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day! And remember, it's not just about flowers and jewelry. It's about candy. Lots of it. Enough to make you hyper active. 

And thanks to Dark-bat, SperryDee, Lladyred01,The Rogue Witch, oldprydefan, ishandahalf, *B, DemonRogue13, Nie Starwhistler, Kitrazzle Fayn, Gothic- Rogue LeBeau, and Robby B. (thanks for bringing the spoiler to my attention) for reviewing. Hope you all like the chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

Paint By Numbers

Chapter 7

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"Peter? Can you feel your feet?" Kitty asked, sitting on the edge of the bed in Piotr's room and gingerly pulling off her shoes, trying to avoid aggravating the blisters on her heels.

"Da," he answered in an exhausted voice, collapsing onto the bed. It was their first day back from Europe, and Wolverine had welcomed the group home with an backbreaking session in the Danger Room.

"Lucky," she muttered, crawling over to him and burying her head against his chest. He put his arms snugly around her and she closed her eyes, completely at peace. "How'd we get so outta shape in only a few days? she questioned lazily, absently tracing the outlines of the muscles on his stomach through his t-shirt.

"Too much of my mother's cooking," Piotr joked as he ran his fingers through her hair. "And the fact that we have hardly had any sleep since Russia," he reminded her, sounding slightly wistful. 

"Do you still miss it?" Kitty asked, looking up at him.

"What, sleep?" She rolled her eyes in mock exasperation, causing him to smile. "Of course, Katya. It's home," he explained, trying to sound indifferent. But the truth was, had it not been for her, holding onto his hand as they boarded the Blackbird, there was a good chance he would have stayed.

She studied his face, sensing there was more to it then what he told her. After a few moments she gave up and rested her head back on his chest, choosing not to press the subject. "Your sister was so cute. Growing up I always wanted to have one just like her." 

"Why would your parents want to have another child? You were so perfect that they didn't need another one." 

Kitty burst out giggling from the lameness of what he had just said.

"What's so funny?" he asked, puzzled.

"You," she managed to choke out in between her laughter. 

"Bobby promised that would be a good thing to say," he protested.

"Bobby? You took dating advice from Bobby? Why?" she questioned, still giggling.

"He guaranteed it would work." 

"Really?" Kitty asked, sitting up so she could see his face. "Tell me Peter, how many girlfriends has Bobby had?"

"None."

"Exactly. Which is why the moral of this little story is never take romantic advice from Iceman."

"Sorry," he apologized, embarrassed by her laughter.

"Don't be, it was sweet. Corny, but sweet. Hey," she said softly, noticing his embarrassment, "You know you don't have to try to make me like you, Peter. I already do." He didn't say anything, but she saw him smile. Taking it as a sign that she was forgiven, Kitty snuggled back in next to him, trying to force herself to sleep. But before she could, the memory of what he had said flashed through her mind, causing a little giggle to escape.

"Katya?" he asked, sounding somewhat perturbed.

"Sorry, couldn't help it," she apologized sheepishly.

"Not that. Do you miss yours?" 

Kitty sighed. It wasn't a topic she was particularly fond of talking about. "I dunno. I guess when I think of home, I think of the X-Men. My real family, it's not always so wonderful. I mean, I love my parents and they love me, it's just that most of the time they don't really love each other. They used to fight all the time, ever since I was little. They still do, I'm just not around to hear it anymore. After awhile, I kinda got used to playing the waiting game, knowing it's only a matter of time before they get divorced," she confided to him. He looked down at her, concerned, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. So instead he held her tighter, and she cuddled up closer to him, finding solace in his arms. "You know," she teased, trying to lighten the mood, "We can't all have perfect childhoods like you." 

She felt his body tense up next to her. "My childhood- it was not perfect." 

"That's not what it looked like to me," Kitty said lightly, confused by his discomfort.

"I was lucky to have a family like mine. But my childhood, it was not so easy to hide being a mutant in such a small village. And the people were not so accepting."

"You were a loner." It was more a statement than a question.

"Da." 

"So was I."

His deep blue eyes stared at her in surprise. "I find that hard to believe."

"No, it's true. Rogue likes to say that I make up for all my years of not having anyone to talk to by never shutting up. But back in Deerfield I didn't really have any friends. Probably cause the cheerleaders liked to pick on me. A lot. That's how I met Lance, you know? He went to my school then, too. He helped me after Reilly and her friends, they, uh, well they stuffed me in a locker. That was the same day I realized I was a mutant. Lance, he told me that he was one too, helped me feel like I wasn't alone, like I wasn't a freak. But then he got me into trouble, he tricked me into using my powers to help him steal. I guess that was always one of the big problems with our relationship. Most of the time he was always more concerned about what he'd get out of it then he was of me."

Piotr stayed quiet. This was the first time Kitty had mentioned Lance since Muir Isle. Back then, it hadn't really bothered him. She had been avoiding him for weeks; he was beginning to think he had been nothing more then a distraction, someone to keep her amused while she was unhappy with her boyfriend. He had been so relieved to find out there was a reason for her behavior that he hadn't thought much about her promise to her ex. Then, in Russia, away from all the drama and the intensity of the X-Men, it had been so easy to forget about all their problems and pretend that they were in their own little world. But now that he was away from his home, he had lost the confidence he had found there, and all the old doubts and insecurities were flooding back. He couldn't shake the thought that perhaps the reason she had agreed to Lance's promise was that there was a part of her wanted to stay with him. Much as he tried to forget, Lance was still a factor in his and Katya's relationship, and he was still a part of Kitty's life. Piotr had feelings for her. In Russia, he tried to tell her, in the best way he could, how strong they really were. But it was moments like these that made him doubt those feelings were returned. 

"You should go," he said gruffly, pulling away from her.

"What? Why?"

"We shouldn't be doing this. It is not- proper."

"Peter, were not doing anything bad, we're just resting. And after that training session from hell, I think we deserve it. Besides, we left the door open." He still looked troubled. "Talk to me," she pleaded. "Tell me what's really wrong."

"The promise you made, this is ok? This doesn't cross the line?"

"It, well, um, not really, I guess. I mean, it's not like we're together or anything," she reasoned.

"Are you certain?" he asked intently. 

"Yeah," Kitty said, a little doubtfully, unsure which one of her statements he was referring to. Piotr remained silent. He allowed her to curl up next to him once again, but this time he didn't put his arms around her. She didn't understand what she had done to make him pull away, but she was worried. Then she thought about Lance, about how hurt he would be if he saw them right now, and she couldn't help but feel guilty. She didn't feel so at peace anymore. "I forgot, I have to uh, go help the, uh, Mr. McCoy. So, I'm gonna go," Kitty choked out, trying not to cry. Still, Piotr said nothing. She looked at him one last time before she left the room. He was still laying flat across the bed; his eyes were closed and he looked like he was sleeping. Kitty knew he was pretending. 

***************

Kitty wandered dejectedly through the house to the kitchen, hoping to find some comfort food. She found Rogue there, sitting alone at the counter, surrounded by a few pints of ice cream, trying to decide which one she wanted. This annoyed Kitty. "Why are you bogarting all the ice cream?" she asked grumpily. 

Rogue shot her an resentful look. "Great. You sound happy," she muttered sarcastically. 

Kitty frowned and stared down at the floor, hurt.

She instantly felt guilty. "Look, maybe those'll cheer you up. They were delivered this morning," Rogue told her, motioning the bouquet of flowers sitting in a vase by the sink. "And Ah'm not bogarting."

She ignored her friend's last comment and picked up the flowers. "Nhhh," Kitty groaned miserably as she read the card. 

"Least they're pretty," her roommate commented. 

She scowled at the bouquet. "I had really hoped he was done sending me stuff. You would think after all the time I've spent ignoring him Lance would finally get the picture. Plus, he can't afford this. I mean, why is it, even when they're trying to be nice, boys still find a way to suck?" she ranted, climbing onto the stool next to Rogue and setting her forehead against the countertop.

"Dunno. Who would you rather ask, Ben and Jerry or Mr. Haagen Dazs?" Rogue questioned, holding up a carton.

"What flavors?" she mumbled, her face still against the counter.

"Vanilla, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, New York Super Fudge Chunk, and Chocolate Rum."

"Gimme the rum," Kitty ordered, turning her head and holding out an open hand.

"Ya do know there's no real alcohol in there, right?" she teased. 

"Funny," she scowled, not in the mood for jokes. Rogue made a face at her and Kitty stuck out her tongue. "Achk. That stuff's nasty," she complained after taking a bite of her ice cream. "What's in this?"

"Let's see," Rogue said, reading the carton. "Rum ice cream, chocolate swirls, and raisins."

"Raisins? Why would anyone put freakin' raisins in ice cream?"

"Well some people like 'em," Rogue said defensively, feeling as though Kitty was blaming her since she was the one who gave her the ice cream. She glanced over at her friend, who was still melodramatically staring at her food in silent revulsion. "Too bad ya don't like yours. Mine's real good." she gloated.

"Let me try some," Kitty demand, trying to scoop out a bite.

"No, get your own," Rogue protested, moving the carton possessively towards her. "Here, you can have the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough," she said, pushing the container towards her friend. 

"Fine," Kitty sulked, opening the lid and irritably throwing it on the counter. 

Rogue stared at her, annoyed. "What now?"

"Nothing," she snapped, digging out a piece of cookie dough. "Bogart." 

Rogue glared at her. "Moocher." 

They ate together in silence, both in bad moods, both feeling guilty over the way they had treated each other.

"So... what emotional void are you trying to fill?" Kitty finally asked. 

"Huh?"

"Rogue, a girl doesn't usually eat a full pint of chocolate ice cream without reason. What's wrong?"

"Ah'm a mutant incapable of physical human contact living in a world that hates and fears me, who attempted to kill my own mother and helped an evil psycho try to take over the world," she recited monotonously.

Kitty nodded. "So Gambit again, huh?"

"Yep." 

"You want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Then can I talk about mine?" she pleaded hopefully.

"If Ah say no, will it stop you?" Rogue asked.

"Probably not."

"Figures," she muttered, expecting Kitty to start babbling, but, oddly, her friend stayed silent. "Well, you gonna tell me or not?" she finally asked, fed up with waiting.

"I....not," Shadowcat told her, sounding a little surprised with herself.

"Really? You're actually givin' up a chance to talk? That's a first."

"No, it's just... I can't always keep running to other people and expect them to fix my problems for me. I mean, it's my problem, right? I shouldn't be dependant on someone else, cause then I'm not really dealing with the problem. I'm just letting someone else deal with it for me. I just, I think it's really important that I figure this one out myself." She groaned in frustration and pushed the ice cream away from her. "Maturity sucks." 

"Yeah," Rogue nodded, relating to her friend's obvious misery. "So is that stuff good or what?" she asked, pointing to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

"It's ok," Kitty shrugged. 

"Oh. Ah'll trade ya," she offered.

"But I thought you liked yours."

"Look, you wanna trade or not?" Rogue demanded.

"Ok." They exchanged cartons and ate in silence once more. "Rogue?" Kitty asked, ending the quiet.

"Yeah?"

She looked gratefully at her friend. "Thanks."

Rogue gave her a begrudging little half-smile. "Don't mention it."

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Sorry this chapter took so long to post. Writer's Block. If I had to stare all dumbfounded at the computer screen for another five minutes, I was going to smash my laptop. Which would be bad. But I planned out the next few chapters, so hopefully they won't take so long to finish. And to any of you Iceman fans, I wasn't trying to be mean to him. Poor Bobby just never gets a girl. Evo at least tried to hook him up with Jubilee, but she went away. Of course, if she had stayed, she would probably fallen in love with Alex Summers, as all of Bobby's girlfriends eventually do. Anyway, hoped you like the chapter. It's not the happiest one I've written, but I was trying to bring more development to Colossus and Kitty and Rogue's friendship.

Thanks to oldprydefan,The Uncanny R-Man, Dark-bat, KittieKat8, ishandahalf, *B, Junkyard, Steph Silverstar, DemonRogue13, The Rogue Witch, Lladyred01, SperryDee, and Sanity: Questionable for all the reviews. You guys rock. And I honestly don't mind criticism, so if there's ever anything in the story that you don't like or doesn't make sense, just speak up. Cause sometimes certain things I write only make sense in my own head. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! 


	8. Chapter 8

Paint By Numbers

Chapter 8 

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"What'd that tree ever do to you?" Logan asked, watching the young Russian repeatedly slice the pine's trunk with his ax, each forceful stroke a precise, methodical motion, giving it the appearance of a act of personal meditation. 

"Wolverine, not to be rude, but don't you have someplace else you'd rather be?" Colossus asked, irritated over the intrusion on his solitude.

"Nope," the feral mutant said as he sat down on top of a fallen log covered in shade and lit a cigar. The light from the flame illuminated parts of his face, giving him an even more intimidating appearance than usual.

"Pity," Colossus muttered, returning to chopping the tree, determined to ignore the presence of his unwanted companion.

"Figured it's about time I started makin' the rounds, make sure were clear on a few things. I already had a chat with the Cajun earlier this mornin'," Logan growled from his place in the shadows.

"And exactly what is it that's on your mind?" Piotr asked in between chops.

"Same thing that's got you hacking the hell outta that tree."

Peter put the blade of the ax down and rested against the handle. "Katya," he sighed, his heart a jumble of emotions at the mere thought of her.

Logan nodded. "The two of ya were lookin' pretty chummy in the Danger Room today. And ya had plenty of time to get cozy when you dragged her off to Siberia with ya." Wolverine resisted the urge to smirk as he saw a look of confusion pass briefly across the young man's face. He knew the boy had been expecting questions from him, not to hear him state simple observations. But Wolverine was much more interested in peoples reactions then their words. They were much harder to hide, as long as you were quick enough to catch them. He'd seen that same look of confusion cross Gambit's face earlier that day, before it was replaced by the Cajun's usual facade of smug bravado. But even with Logan's skill, he had still found it difficult to read Gambit, a fact that didn't sit well with him. He was hoping Colossus would be easier to figure out. 

"You have no need to worry, tovarisch. According to Kitty, we have no relationship." he said, trying to sound cool and detached, but the hint of bitterness in his voice and the flash of hurt in his eyes betrayed him.

"What's the matter Petey? Afraid of a little competition?" Logan goaded.

"Competition? Sometimes I am not even sure if I'm in the running," he said dejectedly, picking the ax back up and swinging it at the tree, faster than before, with less precision.

"Now yer just talkin bullshit." 

"And what makes you so certain of that?" he challenged.

"Chuck ain't the only one who knows everything that goes on in this place." He pointed to his ear. "Heightened senses. I hear damn near everything 'round here, and that includes Halfpint's break up with that no good boyfriend of hers. I stayed close enough during that fight to help her if she needed it, almost interrupted it once or twice, but she found a way to keep everything under control on her own." 

"Good for her."

"Just cause she had control doesn't mean he didn't hurt her. But it was the kind of hurt I couldn't protect her from. If I had my way, I would have ripped his face off for what he said to her."

Piotr entire face darkened "What did Lance-?"

"That's her business. But I will tell you this; she broke up with him over you, for you. She a good kid, Russkie. Don't screw this up just because you can't get over your inferiority complex. 'Cause if you make her cry, you'll answer to me," Logan threatened, stomping out his cigar and walking away without another word, leaving Piotr alone with his thoughts.

************************************* 

He found her sitting alone on the lawn, watching Kurt, Remy, Bobby, and four of the others playing a game of basketball. Dusk was settling in, the pink sky illuminating her dark silhouette with a soft yet stoic beauty that Peter found breathtaking. As he walked closer he realized she wasn't watching her friends play basketball, but was instead staring off into the distance with a troubled look on his face, her mouth pursed, moving slightly as she rhythmically sucked her bottom lip. "Good evening, Kitty," he greeted her politely in a quiet voice.

"Oh, hi Piotr," she responded, barely glancing at him, her eyes suddenly becoming fixated on the game in front of her. He sat down a few feet away and silently watched with her, the only sounds between them the hollow thud of basketball against concrete and the muddled yells of their friends shouting over one another. 

"Enjoying the game?" he asked, running his hand through his hair.

"It's ok," Kitty replied, hugging her knees to her chest. "But you know me, I'm more of a baseball fan. Go Cubs," she said weakly, mentally chastising herself for sounding like such a dork.

"Da, the Cubs. They...play baseball," he finished lamely, internally scolding himself for coming off like such an idiot. 

"That they do," she agreed, her eyes still intent on the game.

"So." Peter looked around. "Nice weather we're having," he commented.

Kitty finally tore herself away from the game and glanced up at the sky. The warm rose colored streaks were fading away to make room for the dark violet hues that would soon dominate the horizon. Overhead, the fluorescent street lights came on automatically to light the basketball court. "Yeah, not exactly a big surprise when you live at a school that comes equipped with it's own personal weather witch. I could stand for it to be a little warmer though," she mused.

"Are you cold?" 

"A little," she told him, looking down at a small pile of grass she had ripped out of the ground before Peter had arrived.

"Take my jacket," he offered, taking off his hooded sweatshirt and handing it to her. 

"That's ok," Kitty said, hugging her knees even tighter.

"But I don't need it," he protested.

"No," she refused stubbornly. 

"Kitty!"

"No!"

"Take it Katya, I insist," Piotr told her firmly. 

"Fine," she agreed sullenly, grabbing it from his outstretched hand. Kitty put on the sweater and repositioned herself, cross legged with her hands in the sweatshirt's front pouch. She knew it was one of Piotr's favorite pieces of clothing; the color was faded, the drawstring around the hood was stuck on one side, and there was a small rip on the bottom of the right arm where the sleeve was separating from the cuff. But she didn't mind any of that, or the streak of dirt on the sleeve, or the fact that it was three sizes too big and fell to her knees. She loved it for the simple reason that it smelled like Peter, like pine and fresh air and oil paint. "Than- no wait, spaceeba," Kitty said, thanking him in Russian. 

"You're welcome. Just don't get it dirty." 

"Like you'd even notice!" she exclaimed, scrunching up her nose at him.

"I'm an artist, Katya. We are very perceptive people." He looked back at the game. "So who is winning?" he asked. 

"I think...actually, I don't know. Kurt! Whadsa score?" she yelled over to her friend.

"24-18, us!" he yelled back quickly, trying to keep up with Sam on the court, but stopped when he noticed Colossus. "Hey Peter, you want to join in? We're a player short since we had to kick _someone_ out for cheating." 

"I wasn't cheating!" Kitty protested. 

"You phased through my block. That's an illegal use of powers!" Bobby accused, joining in the conversation while the game stalled so Roberto could chase the ball, which had rolled out of bounds.

"It was a reflex!" she shot back. Bobby shrugged and went back to the game.

"What, it was!" she said with a small laugh, noticing Piotr's smirk. "You know, you should go play or else Kurt's gonna accuse me of trying to keep you here to sabotage the game in retaliation for getting kicked out. Besides, they need you. Without their powers they really suck."

"Amazing, " Piort noted, watching Scott throw the ball into the hoop, only to have it miss completely. "They're actually worse then the Cubs," he added, standing up. She slapped him on the arm for that comment. He winced and grabbed his the spot she had hit, pretending to be in pain.

"Oh please, that didn't hurt." 

"You have caused me great pain. Now I am far too injured to play. I suppose I will simply have to stay here with you."

"Well you can't stay with me for long," she informed him, standing up. "I need to head up to the mansion soon. Me and Rogue and some of the others are having a girls night in. Eat popcorn, paint nails, watch sappy old movies. I know, not very original, but why mess with what works, right? Besides, we're watching Bridget Jones' Diary." He stared at her blankly. "It's this really funny romantic comedy about the usual fluff. You know, girl has to choose between two guys; the one she's had a crush on forever or the new guy who's your basic knight in shining armor. Well actually, she didn't really like the new guy at first, but that was mostly on account that when she first met him at her Aunt Una's Annual New Year's Turkey and Curry Buffet Dinner he was wearing a truly hideous reindeer jumper that his mother had bought him for Christmas and he-"

"Hey Peter! You coming or what?" Kurt yelled from the court.

"I'll be there in a moment," he shouted back before turning back to Kitty. "A knight in shining armor, huh?" he said teasingly, his sapphire eyes twinkling. "I definitely think she should end up with him."

"Oh, so what? You think he's supposed to represent you? I hate to break it to you Mister, but unless you show me a reindeer jumper you're not him," she said, playfully poking him in the chest with her index finger, letting it linger on his chest for a moment longer then necessary before pulling away and folding her arms over her stomach. "So does this mean you're still talking to me then?" she questioned, looking away.

"I was unaware we had stopped, unless, of course, there's a rule about me being able to talk to you as well," Peter said lightly, but she could tell from the look in his eyes he was serious. 

"Yo Tin Man! Stop flirting with your girlfriend and help us win this thing!" Bobby yelled.

"You should probably...," she muttered, motioning to court.

"Da," he agreed solemnly, hesitantly moving away. "Uh, Katya?" he asked, running his hand through his hair, "Would you like to go somewhere tomorrow? With me, I mean," Peter asked quickly, his voice full of hope.

"Actually, I kinda think I already have plans tomorrow, so, um, can I like get back to you on that?" 

"Oh." His face fell. "Da, of course. I, I should-"

"Yeah. Good luck. And beat Kurt! Oh no wait, you're on his team. Just hit him in the head with the ball then. You can say it was just a really bad pass." 

"Ya know, Kit, he's never gonna get the chance to do that if ya don't stop yappin'," Rogue interrupted, walking up behind them. "And Petey, Ah'm surprised at you," she scolded. "You should know by now that if ya give this girl the chance to open her mouth, she's never gonna shut up."

"Of course," Piotr agreed, giving a weak smile. Turning back to Kitty he asked "Perhaps then, Katya, we can do something later, at a time you find acceptable?"

"Yeah, sure," she told him. "Another time." He gave a curt nod and walked off toward the game.

Rogue stared at her friend in disbelief. "Did I just hear right?" she demanded, pulling her toward the house. "He practically asked you out on a date and you said no?"

"It wasn't a date, and I didn't say no. I said I was busy," she corrected.

"Doing what?"

"Stuff," Kitty said evasively.

"What kind of stuff?" Rogue grilled.

"Stuff! And you should be nicer to me. I got the information you wanted."

Rogue stopped walking and looked Kitty in the eyes. "Remy told you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. Alright, so technically he told Kurt. But I got Kurt to tell me," Shadowcat explained. 

"So? Why is that damn swamp rat acting all weird all of a sudden? Not that Ah care, Ah'm just...curious. "

"Really? Well, like I said, Remy told Kurt, which if you think about it is really stupid, considering they don't always even seem to like each other much. But anyway, I got Kurt to tell me, and in exchange he made me play in his stupid basketball game to make the teams even. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to get myself kicked out," she told her as the two girls started walking towards the mansion again. 

"What happened with Remy?" she asked, as calmly as possible, trying to contain her irritation.

"What, I thought you didn't care," Kitty said innocently. Rogue glared at her. "I'm kidding! Remember, I know you care. I saw you eat three pints of ice cream in one sitting over this. But to be honest, Remy didn't so much tell Kurt as much as hint at it, but I think, well we think, that someone had a little talk with him over the way he treats you. Kurt didn't say who it was though. Coulda been the professor, or maybe even Scott. I figure it was probably Wolvie. I mean, you know Logan. For the feral, unsociable, loner type, he somehow finds a way to meddle in other people's problem's more often than a Jewish yenta. Oh, you know what though? I could have been Kurt doing the overprotective brother thing. I thought it was weird that Gambit would tell him."

"Wait, when did this conversation supposedly happen?" Rogue asked.

"Today," Kitty told her, grabbing her arm and phasing them both into the mansion, not bothering with the door.

"Then that's not it," Rogue said, stopping in the foyer."He's been acting all weird since Muir Island."

"Maybe he got possessed by some powerful crazy mutant Dr. McTaggert had secretly living there," Kitty said sarcastically.

"Sure, that explains it," she said with a wry laugh. "Or maybe you were right earlier. Boys do suck."

"Well," Kitty said, thinking of her knight in shining armor, "maybe not all of them." 

_______________________________

Disclaimer: "X-Men belongs to Marvel and, sadly, not to me. "Bridget Jones' Diary" belongs to Helen Felding and whoever she sold the rights to. By the way, it's a great movie and a great book. Everyone should watch and/or read it.

A/N: What stuff does Kitty's have planned? And What's up with Gambit (would someone please tell me because honestly I don't know). All questions will soon (but not necessarily in the next chapter). Basically, here's what's happening: The original plot of this story is precariously close to being beaten to death, so either I'm going to end it in a few chapters and eventually start on a sequel, or turn it into more of action story that still focuses mainly of Piotr and Kitty, with Rogue and Remy in supporting roles. What I end up doing with Gambit really depends on the direction the story goes in. So please leave a review with your opinion, since I have trouble making decisions on my own. And because I fear change, even more than I fear clowns. Or Vicky the robot girl from "Small Wonder" (Although I did love that theme song).

And for those who left reviews last time, thank you, thank you, thank you! I couldn't believe the reviews I got, you all went way above and beyond on those. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I'd say you all uber rock, but I don't think that's a word. But if it was, I would totally use it to describe you. 


	9. Chapter 9

Paint By Numbers

Chapter 9

"Are you ever gonna take that sweatshirt off? Rogue asked, looking at her roommate over the top of the magazine she was reading. For the last few hours, Kitty Pryde had been lying horizontally across her bed, head hanging upside down over the side. Her eyes were fixated on the rays of sunlight that reflected off her mirror and danced through the shadows on the floor as she unconsciously sucked her bottom lip. "You've been wearin' that thing for two days straight. It's gonna smell," Rogue warned. 

"It already smells. It smells like him," Kitty responded, hugging her arms tightly around her stomach. 

"That wasn't the kind of smell Ah was talkin about," Rogue said dryly, watching her friend's attention drift back to the shiny spots on the hardwood floor. "You know, if you like Peter enough to never want to take his ratty old sweatshirt off, you could actually go see him, instead of doing something stupid, like reverting back to your old ways of hidin' in your room and hopin' he doesn't come knocking." 

"I'm not hiding," she told her, and Rogue was surprised at the dark, level tone of her voice. "Remember how I said that I needed to solve my own problems?" Kitty asked, in a slightly softer manner. "Well, last night I think I finally figured out what's wrong. And I know how to fix it, but it's something I really don't want to do. I'm just trying to work up the nerve," she explained somberly, sounding a little scared. 

Rogue frowned. "Good luck with that," she muttered, confused at her roommates vagueness, but deciding it best not to pry.

Kitty sighed and pulled herself back onto the bed and turned over so she was lying on her stomach. "Do you remember when we first found out Peter was moving in?" she asked Rogue wistfully.

"Yeah, you were mad because there was gonna be another X-Baby to share the bathroom with. Then you found out the new teammate was gonna be Colossus and you wouldn't stop babbling about how great he was," she reminisced with a small laugh. 

"Please. All I said was that he seemed kind of nice. Then you started yelling at me about how "spendin' five minutes battlin' mechanical statues under a pyramid in a foreign country isn't a good basis for sound character judgment, Kitty. Ah've known Gambit for weeks now, and all he seems is kinda annoyin'," she repeated, trying her best to imitate Rogue's southern accent. 

Rogue threw a pillow at her, trying to hide her amusement. "First of all, Ah do not sound like that. And second, you didn't say he was nice. Ah believe your exact words were something along the line of "Peter's wonderful," she sighed, mocking her friend.

"He is, isn't he?" Kitty asked as she played with the string from the sweatshirt's hood, wrapping it tightly around her index finger in a criss-cross pattern until it was numb from lack of circulation.

"That's what Ah keep telling you!"

"No, you said Peter was bad and that I should be careful with him," she reminded, unwrapping the string and examining the "x" shaped imprints it had left on her skin.

"What Ah said," Rogue told her, "is that you have to watch out with the Acolytes. Regular folks, they already betray you enough, ya don't need to go and put your faith in someone who's already proved themselves to be untrustworthy. They'll just break your heart." she told her quietly and evenly, her eyes downcast. "But that was a long time ago. And Petey, well he was never a real Acolyte, was he?" she reasoned, trying to ignore Kitty staring at her, a searching look in her wide, expressive eyes.

"You know," she said finally, "that's kind of a strange thing, coming from you. Don't you, of all people, believe in second chances? I mean, It's not like you were exactly considered trustworthy back in the beginning."

"Then maybe I should include myself in that statement," Rogue bristled.

Without hesitation, Kitty put the sweatshirt's hood over her head and let the oversized sleeves fall over her hands before getting up and hugging her friend tightly around the neck, careful to turn her head to the side so there was no risk of contact with Rogue's skin. 

"Kit!" she complained, before briskly patting her three times on the back. "You can let go now."

She grinned wickedly. "Bet you wouldn't say that if I were Remy." 

She took a deep breath, trying to summon her strength and calm the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach as she rang the doorbell. But whatever inner composure she fooled herself into believing she had disappeared the moment the peeling, battered door opened and she found herself starring at a familiar pair of brown eyes. "Kitty! What a nice surprise!" he told her, but something in the tone of his voice and the look on his face made her feel like he wasn't too shocked to see her, as though he had been expecting her to show up. 

"Hey, Lance. How are you?" she asked softly.

He grinned smugly at her "Fine. I knew you'd come around. Do you wanna come in?" he invited, opening the door wider and stepping aside to make room for her. From the hallway she could hear the television blaring from the living room, and the sound of the Brotherhood bickering among themselves.

"If you don't mind, do you think we could go somewhere a little less...crowded?" she asked.

Lance nodded. "No problem," he said, shutting the door without a look back. "Come on, hop in the jeep. I'll take you anywhere you want to go," he told her as he opened the car door for her.

"It doesn't matter. You pick. Just somewhere quiet," Kitty told him as he backed out of the driveway.

"You got it," he said, making a left at the intersection. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she sat quietly, staring out the window as they drove through Downtown Bayville. "So....Did you get my gifts?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, they were really nice. Thank you. But you know you didn't have to," she said gently, careful not to mention that he shouldn't be spending money on things he couldn't afford.

"I wanted to," he explained, glancing at her. "Besides, it was worth it. After all, I got you back. "

Kitty gave him a resigned smile, then turned back toward the window.

Peter was by the lake, as she knew he would be. It was their spot. He was standing near the edge of the water with his back towards her, skipping rocks across the lake, watching the ripples spread then fade into the inky blue water. In the dim light of evening Kitty could see the faint outline of his open sketchbook lying forgotten on the ground. She picked it up and studied the last picture, a charming sketch of his home in Siberia complete with the snowcapped mountains he loved in the background, all of which had been crossed out by angry, dark strokes of charcoal. She looked up to find Peter watching her, a indecipherable expression on his face. 

"Sorry, I should have asked first. Do you mind if I look at these?" she said, holding up the sketchbook.

He shrugged and threw another rock in the lake.

Kitty gingerly flipped backwards through his most recent sketches, careful not to smudge any of the thick charcoal strokes. On the first page there was a drawing of Illyana sleeping peacefully as she held the stuffed dragon Kitty let her borrow. She looked at the date in the corner and realized Peter had started it days ago, probably while she was asleep next to him on the Blackbird. She flipped the page backwards and found herself starring at her own portrait. He had drawn her with a shy, blushing look on her face, and the corners of her mouth were turned up, as though she was just starting to give in to a smile, although it was hard to make out the details. Despite their beauty, Piotr had scribbled over both the sketches, as he had done with the drawing of his farm, with the same dark, angry strokes. 

"Peter, these are gorgeous. Why did you cross them out?" she questioned, looking remorsefully at his ruined pictures.

"In the end, they did not feel right, did not fit. They felt...lost," he told her slowly, struggling to find the right words to express himself in the language he didn't always understand.

Kitty closed the book and put it back on the ground, joining him by the edge of the lake. He had run out of rocks to throw and was starring intently across the water, as though he was searching for something off in the distance. She followed his gaze, wondering if his attention was transfixed by something she couldn't see, if his artists eyes were able to find some haunting beauty to the lonely landscape before them, where she saw nothing but the ordinary hazy outline of trees reflecting in the water. Or maybe he simply didn't want to look at her.

"So I went somewhere today," she told him quietly.

"Oh," he said, his distant tone masking his curiosity.

"The Brotherhood House." 

Without a word, he turned to walk away. In his mind, those three words had confirmed every one of his fears, justified every single insecurity. He had to leave. He didn't want her to see how she had broken his heart.

"No, wait. Listen," Kitty pleaded, grabbing his hand. With his strength, Peter could have easily pulled out of her grip, but, in spite of it all, his resolve to leave vanished the moment her hand touched his. So he gave in, allowing her to draw him back and stood silently, with no expression on his face. " Listen," she repeated, still clinging tightly to his hand. "When I broke up with Lance, I hurt him, and I hated myself for it. So I agreed with whatever he asked of me because I was weak, and I didn't want the guilt of hurting him anymore then I already had. But what I did wasn't fair to you, or to me, or even to Lance. And in trying not to hurt him, I ended up hurting you."

Kitty looked down, unable to meet his eyes, but her grip on his hand tightened. 

"I don't love Lance, Peter, I never really did. But I promised him. I gave my word, and I couldn't go back on it. Because if I did, how could I ever expect you to trust me? How could I ever be able to respect myself? But as long as I kept it, Lance kept hanging on, kept thinking there was still a chance for us. So I went over there today to make sure he understood what was I felt, and to ask him to let me out of that stupid promise."

If Kitty had been watching Peter, she would have seen a glimpse of surprise flicker in his eyes and his stoic expression soften after her last comment. Instead she kept her vision locked firmly on the ground below her, struggling to get her words out, determined not to stumble along the way. 

"It wasn't easy for either of us," she continued. "There was a lot of screaming, a lot of anger. He told me no. He was being stubborn, and I was being too careful of saying something that would hurt him even more. But he just, he wouldn't give up. In the end I finally had to tell him everything. About us, I mean. You and me. About how I feel about you. And he finally understood that he didn't have a chance. He had to let me go," she finished, silent tears rolling down her cheeks as she remembered the pain she had caused Lance that afternoon, and the wounded, resigned look on his face as he released her from her promise. 

Peter pulled her into his arms and held her close. Kitty rested her head against his chest, feeling the rapid beats of his heart that contradicted the calm, soothing manner he stroked her hair, and the slow, sweet way he murmured softly to her in Russian. In his arms, she felt a sense of calm come over her, like the kind of lazy bliss you feel when you wake up all snug and cozy in your warm bed on some chilly idle Sunday, knowing that you can stay snuggled up warm in the sheets for as long as your heart desires. And in time, in the comfort of his embrace, her tears of guilt changed to tears of relief, until, finally, they subsided. 

"Katya?" Peter asked tentatively, afraid of spoiling the moment. 

"Hmm?" Kitty muttered, raising her head from his chest.

"It really is over between you? You are no longer bound to him?" 

She nodded. "Lance is out of my life for good, and I can be with whoever I want."

"You look scared" he said quietly, hesitantly reaching out to touch her face, leaving his hand hovering a breadth away from her skin, as though he was afraid she might take all she had said back.

Kitty placed her hand over his, and he allowed her to close the distance and push it the rest of the way to her soft cheek. "I am," she whispered, her warm chocolate eyes never straying from his loving sapphire ones. "But I don't care." 

Peter lightly caressed her cheek, his eyes staring as intently as her own. "Then it is alright if I do this..." he trailed off, lifting her gently off the ground so their lips could meet. 

For Piotr, their kiss evoked more euphoric sensations than he ever dreamed were possible to feel in a single moment. Joy and passion, tenderness and love, but there was something else; a strange sensation, something familiar but... lost. His mind searched desperately, trying to place it, and from the depths of his mind an old memory found it's way to the surface. Back when he was only a child, long before his sister was even born, his family would all climb into their old, rickety truck and drive for hours to the nearest metropolis for supplies. Their parents would let the two boys explore the city, and Mikhail would run all over, trying to take in as much as he could before it was time to leave. Piotr tried his best to keep up with his big brother, but he was too young, and the city was too much. When his family would meet back at the truck, Mikhail would beg his parents to let them stay longer, but Piotr would climb into his spot in the back, exhausted by their little adventure. No matter how hard he fought to stay awake to watch the rural farmlands pass by through the dusty truck windows, he would fall soundly asleep in the first hour, oblivious to all the bumps and potholes along the old country dirt roads that threatened the peaceful, innocent serenity of a child's slumber. But somehow, those last few familiar bumps and turns as they entered the drive always found a way to reach him, to stir his heart. No matter how deep the sleep, how vivid the dream, he felt, instinctively, that he could wake up. That he was home. And though it was a place he had never been to before today, he had that feeling again. In his heart he knew that in holding his Katya in his arms, in being able to kiss her soft, tender lips and feel her warm, gentle hands at the back of his neck, he was finally home once more.

They broke the kiss and held one another, finding solace in each other's arms. "You know I was wondering, what did you say to convince him?" he asked, resting his mouth against her forehead. 

"I told him how I felt about you. No, that's wrong. I- I told him that I love you" Kitty said shyly.

Peter kissed her again, this time deeper, harder, more passionately. "I love you as well, Katya," he told her sincerely, taking delight in the beautiful smile that lit up her face. "So...Are you still scared?" he asked her playfully. 

"Oh yeah. Absolutely terrified," she said with mock certainty.

"For certain?" he asked with a grin, wondering whose smile was bigger, her's or his own.

She giggled. "The phrase, dunce, is fer shure," she muttered, trailing off as they moved together for another kiss.

A/N: First off, I have to give the proper people their proper credit so they don't sue me and I'm forced to give up the $1.41 and the lint covered green Skittle I found in my jacket pocket. Actually, my boyfriend sadly thought it would be funny if he ate the Skittle, so now I'm back to just the $1.41. Anyway, the line "Peter's wonderful" comes from Uncanny X-Men Annual 4 and "You look scared.", "I am. I don't care.", "For certian.", and "The phrase, dunce, is fer shure" all come from the very very wonderful Uncanny X-Men 174. It's chalk full of fluffy Kiotr adorableness and Maddie punches Scott in the face. What more could you want?

Moving on, this was the Paint By Numbers penultimate chapter. The next one will wrap everything up, including the Romy storyline from Chapter 8. I'm still thinking of a future fic sequel, but If I do that I really want to get everything outlined and prepared so it doesn't fall apart halfway through or take as long to update. And preferably that one will have a slightly less crappy title. 

And of course, I saved the best for last. The best being the reviewers, of course. You guys are the only reason besides my obsessive fixation on Kitty and Peter that I keep writing. Thank you for your reviews! They fill my life with sunshine. Just like the yellow care bear. Thanks to:

alygny

Kitrazzle Fayn

The Uncanny R-Man

DemonRogue13

B 

poterat

ishandahalf 

oldprydefan

Lladyred01

Steph Silverstar

SperryDee

KittieKat8

Dark-Bat

You guys are the greatest!


	10. Chapter 10

Paint By Numbers

Epilogue

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Open the door, Katya," Peter said as he stood in the hallway outside her room.

"No! I'm still mad at you," she yelled back through the wood. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. No matter how much his girlfriend pouted, he knew she was only play acting, feigning anger because she was supposed to, not because she actually meant it.

"Then I will just have to knock the door down," he teased.

"Go ahead and try!" she shot back.

"If you don't open the door, I can not give you your present," Peter cajoled.

"Present?" he head her mutter, knowing her curiosity was getting the better of her. Kitty's hand phased through the door and she held her palm out expectantly, withdrawing it only after Peter had placed the string of the gift bag safely around her fingers.

"I received a letter from back home this morning," he told her, continuing to speak through the door. From the inside he could hear the rustling of tissue paper as she rummaged around for her gift. "My mother wrote of how Illyana loves the little dragon you left with her. You never told me that you gave her Martin."

"That's because I didn't _give_ her Martin. I let her _borrow_ him for an unspecified amount of time," she informed him from the other side of the wall, still searching through the bag.

"Borrow? You mean like I let you borrow my sweatshirt?" Peter teased, his cornflower blue eyes dancing with amusement.

Without warning her head poked through the door, a mystified look on her face. "There's nothing in this," she complained, holding the offending gift bag out towards him.

Peter grinned at her and produced the surprise from behind his back, holding it up so that Kitty could see.

"Awwwww," she cooed, phasing the rest of the way through the door and taking the stuffed purple dragon from his hands.

"I thought you might want a replacement, what with Martin being so far away," he explained. "But I am sorry, I could not find another green one."

"Don't be. Lockheed's perfect," Kitty told him happily, already cradling the toy in her arms as though it was a little baby.

Watching her, Peter was hit with the sudden realization of what a wonderful mother his Katya would be someday. A moment later he was stifling a laugh at the absurdity that the image of his girlfriend fawning over a plush lizard with wings could evoke that particular thought.

"Thank you, Peter. I love him. And I love you," she told him sweetly, entwining her arms around her neck and phasing them both into her room, where they stood, still holding on to another, in front of the doorframe. "But you're still not getting your sweatshirt back."

"It looks better on you anyway," he conceded. "So tell me, Katya, what was the real reason you left my sister your toy? And do not attempt to tell me it was because you are too old for stuffed animals."

"Well, I thought it was only fair. She gets my dragon, I get her big brother," Kitty told him flirtatiously, standing on her tiptoes to reach his mouth, being just tall enough to reach his lower lip.

Peter bent down to meet her kiss, pulling her closer to him. She loved it in his embrace. It wasn't just the feeling of his lips on hers, it was the way he held her. It was strong and safe, but sensual, and she kissed him with deeper ardor. Without either of them making a conscious effort, the pair moved further across the room, until they found themselves on her bed.

Peter realized what was happening between them first. One moment he was nuzzling the crook of her neck, the next he abruptly stopped, and she felt his muscles tighten under her hand on his bare back. He stared down at her, unsure if they should continue.

Kitty faintly remembered phasing Peter's shirt off somewhere on the journey between the door and the bed. She tilted her head sideways and saw it lying on the floor, partially covering the head of her poor dragon, which had been dropped along the way.

When she turned back she found herself again in Peter's eyes. He was starring at her intensely, his brows furrowed, and she waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to make a decision, not quite sure what she wanted to happen. His eyes fluttered reluctantly closed, and he tilted his chin up, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Peter, wait," she protested, holding his arms, not wanting him to leave. She felt guilt-ridden, knowing that he wanted this, but had pulled away for her.

"Nyet, it's not the right time. You are-"

"I'm eighteen! I'm old enough," she protested.

"But you are not yet ready, Katya," he told her gently, knowing how scared she was. "And until you are, I can wait."

As he shifted his body, preparing to move away from her, she let go of his forearms and grabbed the sides of his face, holding it steady as she kissed him tenderly, her tongue lightly caressing his as their bodies melted together.

The door slammed and they broke apart, exchanging guilty looks. Rogue stared at them for a moment, then continued to make her way to the dresser and grabbed her discman. She threw her headphones on, turning the volume loud enough for them to hear the pounding beats of Korn. Without a word to them, she left the room.

Kitty sighed as Peter looked back at her. They both knew the moment had passed.

"So how is she doing?" Peter asked as he rolled next to her and sat up.

"As perky and cheerful as always."

"He's really going to miss her," Piotr muttered sadly.

"He doesn't have to go!"

"Yes, he does," he explained calmly, trying to help her understand his friend's point-of-view. "Katya, my heart once told me to me to leave my home. Now Remy's is telling him to return to it."

She glared at him. "And what about Rogue? What about her heart?"

"He has tried many times Katya. But she never let him in. He finally gave up."

"I don't know why you have to take his side," she pouted, remembering why she had been so upset with him earlier.

Peter shrugged. "For a long time, he was the closest thing I had to a friend."

"Yeah, well I guess if my choices were between him, a smelly homicidal maniac, a creepy tattooed mind controller, and a fire bug a few french fries short of a happy meal, I'd probably pick Gambit too." she admitted grudgingly. " I should go talk to Rogue, shouldn't I?"

"I'll help you find her," he offered, getting up towards the door.

"Uh, Peter?" she asked, starring at his bare chest.

"Da?"

She picked his shirt off the floor, crumpling it into a ball before she threw it to him.

"Maybe you should put your shirt back on."

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Rogue saw Peter and Kitty walk down the steps of the Institute from her vantage point at the edge of the fountain ledge in the front yard. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Kitty turned towards her boyfriend. Piotr reached out and ran his hands soothingly up and down her arms, bending down for what she assumed was a quick kiss before he went back inside. Rogue looked away, pretending not to notice as Kitty made her way over.

"Hi Rogue," she said .

She closed her eyes and moved her head to the beat of the music.

"That's a really good song," Kitty told Rogue, her voice far too optimistically perky for Rogue's liking .

"What?!" she yelled.

"That's a really good song!" she shouted over the music.

Rogue rolled her eyes. She knew her roommate's taste in music well enough to know that in her mind this qualified as the very antithesis of good. Even so, she took the headphones off.

"So you managed to tear yourself away from Peter to talk to me? Ah'm touched."

"How are you?" Kitty asked as she sat down next to her.

Rogue bristled at the pity seeping from her voice. "So tell me Kit, when ol' Petey turns into his steel form, does everything get bigger?" she asked, but there was no familiar teasing in her voice, only bitterness. Kitty chose to ignore it.

"Talk to him, Rogue," she implored.

"No," she said firmly.

"Yes!" Kitty argued.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"No!"

Rogue smirked, catching her friend's trick. "Glad ya agree."

"Damn it! Why not?" Kitty demanded.

"Because it's better this way. For both of us," she told her her tone becalming more calm and resigned.

"But how can it be better?" Kitty asked dolefully.

"You really don't understand, do you?" she questioned, looking at the slightly younger girl's confused face, her anger fading. Kitty may be the smartest of the teenage X-Men, at least according to the IQ tests Proffessor X kept making them take, but she was still the most naive. "Ah hope ya never have to."

"So that's it? You're just going to let him go?"

"Yes," Rogue told her with such finality that her friend didn't even try to dissuade her. Instead, she just stared at her with such sorrow in her eyes that she knew Kitty's heart was bleeding for her. And in a strange way, that brought her some comfort.

"Ah'm sorry for what Ah said earlier, about Peter. You know Ah like you with him. Ah swear, ever since the two of ya started spending time together you've been acting much more mature, like an actual grown up. Ah even heard you have an entire conversation without using the word "like" once. And Ah can't even remember the last time you even mentioned the mall."

"And I liked you with Gambit. He made you smile."

"Yeah? Ah kinda liked it with Gambit too."

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"I'll write you Chere," Remy told Rogue as he stood outside the mansion's steps. Nearly everyone else had already said their goodbyes, and only the two of them, Kitty, Peter, and Kurt were left.

"Why?" she asked coldly, throwing his hand off her clothed arm.

"I never wanted to go, Rogue, that be why it took me so long to make a decision. But I have to leave. Jean-Luc, he's my pere. I know he's not always been da best, but he be sick. He needs me to take care of him, to run da Guild. Da X-Men, dey have enough. Dey don't need me. Not like mon Pere."

She stared at him with her patented death glare. "You're right. We don't need you," she snapped, walking away.

"Chere! Rogue!" he called out after her retreating figure. She kept walking.

Gambit's face fell and he looked down, rubbing his temples. "Well mon amies, I guess dat be dat."

"Gambit, stay. Maybe-"

"Non, non. Merci, Katie, but I've stayed here too long already. It's time for me to go." He gave Kitty a hug, leaning in close to her ear. "You take care of my chere, d'accord? Keep bein' her friend. You good at dat."

She nodded but when he pulled away there was a sour look on her face, showing her obvious displeasure with his actions.

Gambit politely shook Kurt's hand before the blue mutant teleported away to find his sister. He did the same to Peter, and winced as he clapped his hand on his back. After all this time the big Russian still didn't know his own strength. He shot one last smile at Kitty who glowered at him, only making his grin widen further. With that angry look on her face she reminded him of Rogue. Of course, he had a feeling every time he saw a pretty girl glaring at him he would be reminded of his chere.

"I be seein' you," Remy said, offering his last goodbye, knowing what he had just said was a lie. He was never going to see any of these people again, but it was nice to think he would. Much as he acted like he didn't care, he had liked it here.

Peter and Kitty waved, watching him drive out of the mansion gates.

"Peter?" she asked as they walked back towards the mansion, hand in hand.

"Da?"

"Thank you."

He stopped walking and looked down at her, not sure what she was talking about, knowing from her tone she was too serious to be simply thanking him for the present he had given her the day before.

"For what, Katya?"

She looked down, remembering all Peter had done to make her fall so in love with him. How kind he had always been, even when she was with Lance; how he had made her smile when she felt like crying; the way he would tease her with such a good-natured look in those sweet, twinkling blue eyes that she never once took it to heart. Peter made her feel safe and happy and fulfilled. He was her counter-balance, silent where she was loud, calm where she was temperamental, steady where she was impetuous. Strange, before she loved him she had never known she even needed one. Somewhere off in the distance, Gambit's motorcycle made one last roar as he rode away. Kitty looked back at Peter, amazed she couldn't think of a single thing about him that she didn't love.

"Thank you for never giving up on me."

He laughed as he reached down and grabbed her legs, scooping her up and holding her close in his arms as he walked with her up the steps. "Never."

She giggled, holding him tighter. "Promise?"

"Always."

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So that's the end, hope you like it. I didn't want to write this chapter because I felt bad for Rogue and because I'm really more excited about the sequel. It's going to be titled "The Knight and the Maiden". It's all planned out, and chapter 1 will be posted on Friday, June 1. I'm really having a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you like it. As for hints about the plot, to borrow a line from UXM #110, "Always and forever are two different things."

Also like to point out there's a little bit of an homage to UXM #165 in this chapter. I tried to work in a lot of old phrases and plots from the older comics throughout this story, and that was kind of the last silver age issue I thought still needed to referenced.

And to all my reviewers thank you so much. You've made this entire thing worth writing.

SperryDee - I know, they've been needing to kiss for awhile. Actually, the plan was to have them kiss after a big Lance-Piotr fight, but no matter what I did that just didn't seem to make sense. Besides, this way was much more fluffy.

KittieKat8- Thanks! Your cool too! Thanks for all the support!

alygny- Kiotr fluff is always a good thing, at least in my opinion. The sequel is a little darker in some parts, but still has its fluffy moments. 

DemonRogue13- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

Dark-bat- I'm happy that chapter made you happy. It made me pretty happy too. Just like "Shiny" does. :)

B - I'm happy to know you like the kiss scene. That was my favorite part to write. I hope you like the sequel! 

ishandahalf- Sorry to say Rogue and Remy don't have a happy ending this time around. But don't worry. That's what sequels are for.

Kitrazzle Fayn- Yeah, I was kind of proud of Kitty too. That wasn't the original plan I had for her way back when I started this fic, but it seemed to work the best. Glad you liked it! 

The Uncanny R-Man- I'm glad you felt like Kitty and Peter have been together forever, it makes me feel better about keeping them apart so long. And the sequel will be posted soon, so look for it in two weeks!

oldprydefan- I made you cry? You know what, you deserve that, because "Paper Flowers" has me crying at every other chapter. Of course, that's one of the many reasons why I love your story so much. And I'm guessing you'll be happy to know that Kitty's had the valley girl written out of her. Not one solitary "like" will be uttered in the sequel, I promise.

Steph Silverstar- Thanks! Happy to know you like it

Thank you all for reviewing!


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